Chosen Ones: Return to the Labyrinth
by World of Bubbles
Summary: AU. Two years after The Hunted. As a little girl, Annabeth knew she'd return to the labyrinth. It was only a matter of time. But not under these circumstances when Percy and Terra are missing and the Golden Fleece has been stolen from Camp Half-Blood.
1. Prologue

**Happy Birthday Percy dear! 3 (And Thalia and Nico too if you refer to CO) Anyways, Prologue, then first two chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing… yet.**

**Rated T for language, suggestive themes, etc.**

For Annabeth Chase there's no such thing as "navigating" the Labyrinth. It's a maze full of traps, monsters and unspeakable horrors meant to destroy you. Home sweet home.

Ever since she was three, Annabeth has traveled these dangerous halls. She may have worked out an understanding with the Labyrinth but no one controls it. Not even its creator Daedalus.

But Annabeth's getting ahead of herself. Let's start from the beginning.

**Miami, Florida—May 21**

Terra paces along the warm sands of Miami, checking her watch every five minutes. She groans to herself, thinking of all the threats Luke had made if the idiot decided not to show up. _I swear to Nemesis if he—_

"Terra, where the fuck are you?" a voice hollers.

She smiles in relief and satisfaction, "Over here!"

From the cluster of palm trees, he appears. Percy scowls at her, a bottle of Bacardi clutched in his right hand. He stumbles on the soft sand. Percy looks like shit unsurprisingly. Terra's not exactly astonished to see Percy reverting his old ways. Two years tends to do that to you.

"Typical," she murmurs.

Percy drops onto the sandy bank, groaning, "I travelled all the way from Nassau so you better make this good. What the fuck is your _emergency_?"

Terra doesn't answer. As she speaks she tries to hide the pleasure in her voice, "You came here drunk?"

He looks at her in disbelief, "What? Was I supposed to bring the unicorn who tries to sell me weed every now and then?"

"No, no. My work here is done."

Percy stares at her, the alcohol clouding the little voice known as his conscience, "The fuck are you talking about?"

"Hello Jackson," A voice greets from behind him. Percy turns around, not at all bothered by Luke sudden appearance.

"Hey Castellan, want some liquor?"

"Um, no," he says, shooting Terra a confused gaze.

She shrugs, "Can you just take him already and get this over with?"

"Terra, have you ever talked to grass before?" Percy asks curiously.

Terra shakes her head slowly.

"Good, 'cause right now it's telling me you're a two-timing bitch. Care to explain why?"

Luke watches on in amusement, "Percy you do realize we're surrounded by sand, right?"

"Shh!" Percy snaps. "The grass has spoken."

Terra sighs, "How many bottles did you have?"

He shrugs, "I stopped counting after four and a half."

Luke shakes his head in amusement, "Amazing that stuff hasn't killed him yet."

**Mount Tamalpais—May 23**

She walks like a ghost amongst the Titan army camp. None of the soldiers pay attention to the goddess, who drifts towards the large command tent in the center of camp. She enters, glowering as she takes sight of Luke Castellan seated in the center of the small makeshift room. Only it isn't Luke Castellan, and she knows this.

Luke's iris shift to black, a sadistic grin on his pale face, "Hecate… how lovely to see your face again."

Her nostrils flare like an irritated dog, "Erebus? You possess one of my half-bloods?"

He smirks, "Don't be such a child dear niece. He was necessary."

"Necessary my ass," she barks. "No other immortal may meddle with these half-bloods but me, Erebus. Such an act offenses me. I've also heard you've released my mistresses the Empousai."

Erebus smiles, her tone of voice amusing to him, "Peace Hecate, I have not come here to bicker with you. I only wish to know where your alliances stand."

She scowls, her dark eyes staring into the face of Luke Castellan, "Yes, your wife Nyx has informed me of your… coalition. I kindly decline the offer to join."

"So you wish to spend the rest of eternity serving those blasted Olympians? The same gods who treat you like nothing but a simple annoyance? You still possess loyalty for those bastards?"

"And you think a world where Titans rule is far much better? Kronos is a corrupted fool lying through his teeth. Once again you will be locked away in the deepest corners of Hades."

Erebus sighs, "I was afraid it would have to come to this my dear. We know of the child. She is in our care. If you don't comply I'm afraid she won't live to see another day."

Hecate stiffens at the sound of this. She remembers the little girl, but a few years old. Lou Ellen, currently her only daughter at the moment. Hecate wasn't one to run around chasing after mortals. Even though her children were rare, Hecate was highly protective of them, like a hound with its pups.

Her reaction pleases him, "So… I take it you'll reconsider?"

"Why Number 10?" she asks bluntly, changing the subject. "I understand you require a mortal host, as the walls of the Underworld feed on your power, but why Luke Castellan?"

Erebus looks at her with a hint of irritation, "The weak minded do not suit me. I require a mortal who would not disintegrate when I entered his mind. The strong-willed work best."

"But if the half-blood was so strong-willed, how did you slip into his subconscious?"

"The final days of the Labyrinth," Erebus chuckles. "Oh I had been watching the son of Hermes for some time. Daedalus fed on the boy's patience, weakening his defenses. Unfortunately, as soon as he left with Number 7 I was pulled back before I could take complete control. I rested in his subconscious until another opportunity presented itself."

"When the girl admitted she was with child," Hecate murmurs.

A devilish grin appears on his face, "Precisely."

This time it's Hecate's turn to smile, "But even now you don't have complete control. I can tell, both of your spirits are coexisting; each refusing to back down."

"That changes by the hour, I assure you," Erebus snarls.

"I'm sure it does," the goddess muses. "Tell me _Luke_, even if I do join you, how in the name of Chaos will you succeed?"

"Now, now, you know the rules Hecate. I can tell you none of my plans until you pledge your loyalty."

Hecate grimaces, "You're a clever one I'll give you that."

"I always have been my dear which is why I present you with an ultimatum. Join us and you will no longer have to live under the reigns of Zeus. Your demigod child will be freed and you will have nothing to worry about."

She does her best to hide the desperate gaze in her eyes.

"Refuse our invitation and I'm afraid your child will die and when Kronos rises he will lock you up with the same Olympians you claim loyalty to."

Hecate looks away, desperately trying to mask the weakness that threatens to overcome her.

"Choose wisely Hecate."

She sighs, turning to face him once more, "You already know my answer."

Erebus chuckles callously, pleased, "Welcome to the Titan's side."


	2. Chapter 1

**Brooklyn, NY—June 1**

Coney Island Boardwalk parties are fun. The warm summer air flows in between the people crowded on the beach. The intoxicating music just makes you wanna let loose and dance. Of course there's the humidity but with an ice cold cocktail in hand you tend to forget about the hundreds of warm bodies pressed up against you.

But of course, your fun stops when a centaur with a mean scowl turns up out of nowhere. That's how Thalia and Annabeth feel at the moment.

"Chiron?" they utter in disbelief.

_"I found you, thank Iris,"_ he mutters. Behind him battle cries are head, the sound of metal clashing together all too recognizable. Buildings burn behind him, monsters screeching as they chase campers in Greek armor. _"As much as I hate to admit this, we need your help. Camp Half-Blood is being attacked."_

And here, all Thalia and Annabeth wanted was to have fun. They want to tell Chiron, as much as they want to help, they can't make it in time. Camp Half-Blood is hours away. But they don't get the chance. The Iris message is cut off, disappearing.

Thalia groans in displeasure. Both Annabeth and her had come from Athens just a few days ago, hoping to get a change of scenery in Brooklyn. Just two days here in Western Civilization and they were already forced to fight monsters.

"Bisogno di aiuto?" Thalia freezes, a slow smile creeping up on her face. She only knew one son of bitch who could speak Italian.

She turns around grinning, "Nico?"

He looks strangely different yet all too familiar. In just two years his hair is longer and he's slightly taller but besides that Nico is… well Nico.

Annabeth gives him a friendly acknowledgement, "What brings you here?"

Nico rolls his eyes brushing away his shaggy brown hair, "Old horse is workin' on my nerves. Something about Camp Half-Blood in trouble and what-ya-know? I'm smack dab in the middle of some cemetery in Venice. Its difficult shadow travelling a couple thousand miles across the world but I figured since I'm headed to Long Island I might as will pick you two up."

Annabeth nods, glancing at her watch, "I would thank you right now but we have a camp to save apparently. Mind getting us to Half-Blood Hill?"

Nico cracks his knuckles, "No problem. Where's Percy by the way? I thought he'd be with you guys."

Annabeth bites her lip, worried, "Honestly… I thought he'd be with you."

**Camp Half-Blood—June 1**

Atalanta Jackson, four years old this year, lies beside the fallen dragon Peleus on the low branches of Daphne's laurel tree. She stays hidden, waiting for the small battles surrounding her to cease. Monsters of all different shapes and sizes come from nowhere, travelling over camp borders with ease.

Apollo children take their positions in the tree tops above, firing off their arrows. Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares and a few Athena kids fight in phalanx formation, preventing more creatures from sneaking into camp. Demeter children are scattered here and there, using their power over nature to stop the small advancing army. Jason, camp leader and only child of the Big Three, is everywhere firing bolts of electricity off of his Imperial gold sword.

Everyone else is inside of camp, fighting off enemies who've found their way past camp's defenses as well as drowning down the buildings that have managed to catch on fire. Aphrodite kids do their best to get the younger campers to the safety of Bunker 9. It's pure chaos here on Half-Blood Hill, certainly no place for Atalanta. But no one seems to notice her.

Jason nears the laurel, using the bark as a leverage to nail a Laistrygonian giant in the face. The creature snarls, swinging his javelin. Jason pulls off a backflip, attempting to distance himself from his enemy. Atalanta sinks lower into the grass, avoiding the knives aimed at Jason. The son of Zeus deflects them with ease but he knows the more time he spends fighting this giant, the more monsters are able to sneak into camp.

Jason makes a move to deliver a fatal blow to the giant's rib cage. Right when he's ready to strike, the beast freezes, eyes as wide as saucers. The giant shudders before disappearing into a mound of gold dust.

Thalia retracts her spear, studying her brother wearily, "Are you just gonna stand there?"

He nods grudgingly, following her lead.

She rolls her eyes before joining Nico and Annabeth once more. The campers are relieved by the extra reinforcements, fighting with renewed strength. The three Chosen Ones fight like their own army, cutting down the enemy's forces. Annabeth stiffens as she hears the sounds of heavy steps pounding into the ground. She grits her teeth, charging forward.

Colchis bulls in form of automatons rip through the fringe of trees. Annabeth uses a nearby oak tree to launch herself from the ground, jumping on one of the bull's back. You hear the sound of metallic screeching as she nails her knife in the chinks in the automaton's armor hide. It slices open, releasing an intense amount of heat.

She jumps off with only slight burns, pulling out a small jar of Greek fire. Annabeth launches it into the fissure she created before. The beast groans before exploding in a storm of fire. The other two roar, charging forward.

She dodges their metallic horns, "A little help would be nice!"

Thalia looks at her, surrounded by hellhounds, "Kind of busy right now!"

As Annabeth does her best to take down the massive automatons, she can't help but wish Percy were here. Then they hear a clear sound piercing the midnight air: the call of a hunting horn. Some of the dracaena freeze fear evident on their faces, "No."

Something whirls past Annabeth, piercing a bull's eye (no pun intended). It distracts the automaton, giving Annabeth the chance to escape. Rule number 7: _never fight battles you know you can't win._

More are shot out of the woods, each shot taking down a different monster. One even threatens to grace Nico's cheek but he catches it in midair. It takes him a second to make out the projectile; a glowing silver arrow.

"Hunters," he hisses, snapping the arrow in half. Thalia doesn't get a chance to ask him what he's talking about. The archers burst out from the woods, girls at least a dozen of them. The youngest being ten, the oldest about sixteen. They're draped in silvery skin parkas and jeans, all of them armed with bows.

Nico's eyes narrow at one of the older archers. She steps towards him, getting the last of the hellhounds he momentarily forgot about. She blows away the dark silky hair from her olive colored skin, looking at Nico with expressionless dark eyes.

"You certainly do grow up fast."

He doesn't respond.

Her eyebrows furrow, "Hm… no _Hi Bianca? _Honestly I thought you'd be happy to see your big sister."

Another of the older archers nears Annabeth, offering her a hand. She's taller than the other girls, more graceful as well, her skin a coppery color. Also unlike the others a silver circlet is braided into the top of her long dark hair.

"To face Colchis bull alone one must be incredibly stupid or extremely brave." Her accent is hard to place, old-fashioned like she'd been reading from an ancient piece of literature.

She glances at the visible tattoo-like mark on Annabeth's arm, "Ah… that explains much."

Nico walks over to them, Bianca right at his side, "Zoe Nightshade, perfect timing as usual."

The girl Zoe smiles at him mildly, "Nico Di Angelo. I've seen the time has been good on thee."

Thalia walks over, aching an eyebrow, "I take it you know them, Nico?"

Another girl steps out from the forest. She's younger than the first two, twelve or thirteen like most of the others. Her hair is long, auburn colored, gathered back in a ponytail. Her eyes are startling; silvery yellow like the moon, radiating danger.

"Let us save the explanations for later. Our first priority is Camp Half-Blood, understood?"

Thalia and Annabeth nod reluctantly.

The group of girls had set up their tents in a perimeter around Camp Half-Blood. Any monster that'd snuck into camp either fled or had been destroyed. No casualties, Chiron had told them. A couple wounded but nothing too serious.

Surprisingly, everyone gave the three unusual demigods a warm welcome. Some of the head counselors they even remembered from Percy's toga party.

"Wow," Thalia muses. "You show up and cut a couple dozen monsters down and suddenly everyone wants to be your friend."

A few other campers ask for Percy to which Nico, Thalia, and Annabeth reply with saddened gazes. It just isn't complete without him here.

"Nico," Zoe Nightshade walks up to them. Her intelligent dark eyes and regal expression unnerves Thalia and Annabeth but Nico regards her with a tentative look.

"Come Lady Artemis wishes to speak to thee," she says. "And thy friends."

They follow the huntress silently outside camp borders. Seven large tents made entirely of silver silk around a single bonfire. White wolves with golden eyes circle around camp, serving sentry duty. Zoe leads them to the last tent, waving them inside.

Seated on ground is Bianca and the auburn haired girl from before, who was later revealed to be Lady Artemis, speak in low hushed voices. Beside them a deer with glittering fur and silver horns licks the face of a familiar toddler. Atalanta squeals, waving to Annabeth.

Artemis pats the young girl's head, "Such a pleasant child….Come, sit."

They take seat on the tent floor directly across from the goddess. An awkward silence fills the room as Artemis studies them.

"Interesting," she says finally before her eyes come to rest on Nico. "I see you've survived."

He shrugs lightly, "I try my best."

Thalia shakes her head, "Can someone do some explaining up in here because I'm down right confused."

"These are my Hunters," Artemis explains, referring to Zoe and Bianca. "They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. They accompany me on my adventures."

"And Bianca… is Nico's older sister?"

Nico nods, "I didn't come to the Labyrinth in the… you know _normal_ way. Our mother died giving birth to me. We lived with our uncle Gabe Ugliano for a while before we ran away. We had a couple run-in with some monsters including the Furies and hellhounds Hades had sent after us."

"Why?" Annabeth asks.

Bianca answers this, "I didn't want to let Nico go. After our mother died and our father left us for dead… I had no one but him. My last piece of family. Then our deadbeat dad suddenly comes around, again, trying to take another part of my life away."

Nico gives her a heartfelt look, "Bianca was sixteen at the time. She tried to take care of me but it proved to be difficult. We met the Hunters of Artemis shortly afterwards."

His sister manages a smile, "Artemis was actually very convincing. She gave me a new home, a family. I was still reluctant to give Nico to Hades though. Zoe and Artemis, they assured me Nico would be safe in the Labyrinth. The two of them escorted us to the lair of Daedalus."

Atalanta speaks up, ruining the bittersweet moment, "Mommy, where's Daddy?" she murmurs curiously.

Annabeth's eyes widen, "How do you know what… Daddy looks like?"

She sticks out her bottom lip, "He visited me on New Year's. Where is he?"

"Atalanta I don—" Her sentence is cut off by the astonished looks on Zoe and Bianca's faces. "What?" Annabeth growls irritably.

"Nothing," the two Hunters murmur in unison.

Artemis glares at them, "We shall have a word later."

"So wait," Thalia says, desperately wishing to change the subject. "If your Nico's older sister, how come you're still sixteen?"

Bianca flashes her a sheepish smile, "Immortality."

Thalia looks at them in disbelief, "You're kidding, right?"

"She is not I assure thee," Zoe mutters. "Unless we are to fall in battle, which is unlikely, or break our oath."

"Oath?"

"To foreswear romantic love forever, to never grow old, to be a maiden eternally," she explains.

"Ew…" Annabeth and Thalia blurt out simultaneously.

Bianca smiles, "Well it appears you eligibility of joining has been… terminated."

Annabeth's eyes narrow, "Listen Di Angelo—"

"Enough," Artemis snaps. "We have not come here to argue about morals. Chiron requests an emergency meeting at the Big House. Bianca, Zoe, you are to attend. As well as Annabeth, Nico and Thalia. I suggest you settle your differences now and save me and Chiron the trouble, understood?"

"Sorry," everyone murmurs.

Atalanta glances at Annabeth, giving her a playful smile, "Mommy, can I keep the dear?"

The council is far from what Annabeth expects. The meeting is held in the Big House's rec room, everyone taking their seats around a Ping-Pong table. A nymph comes in every now and then to serve them nachos and sodas.

Rafael, leader of Ares cabin, has his boots on the table, not that anyone seems to care. Travis and Connor Stoll from Hermes hold a lighter under the table, attempting to ignite a Ping-Pong ball. Lee Fletcher from Apollo cabin sits away from the others, absently wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist. The counselor from Aphrodite cabin, Piper, sits beside Malcom from Athena, sharing a deep conversation in Ancient Greek. Annabeth swears she's seen him blush a couple of times.

Chiron trots in, a weary look on his face, "Let's come to order, shall we? Stolls, if you'd so kindly extinguish that Ping-Pong ball. Rafael, if you'd please remove your feet from the table and Piper I believe now is not the time to flirt. Now as you can seem Camp Half-Blood is experiencing some technical difficulties with our borders. Jason, if you'd care to explain?"

Everyone turns to look at the son of Zeus. He clears his throat, informing them of the Golden Fleece that's been stolen from Daphne's laurel.

The centaur nods, "And of course there are other problems to of course. As many of you've guessed, Peleus is weakened, unable to protect us. The Hunters of Artemis will stay here temporarily and see to it camp borders are secured. However, that is not enough. Starting tonight a border patrol will be established. Hermes cabin begins tonight."

Travis and Connor groan.

"And there is also the matter of Rachel."

Jason raises an eyebrow, "What about Rachel? Isn't she like at Princeton or something?"

Chiron strokes his beard, "June 21st is in a few days Jason. Her semester has ended and she plans to return to Camp Half-Blood soon. Currently Rachel has informed me she is in Connecticut attending her sister's graduation from Clarion Ladies Academy. Because of our recent issues with monsters in this area, Rachel will need an escort to Long Island."

Rafael's eyes flare, "An escort? Are we the oracle's body guards are something?"

"If you have a problem with this mission you will not be forced to go. But, Camp Half-Blood _needs_ its oracle. If the Titan army gets a hold of her—"

Thalia cuts him off, "Wait, what Titan army?"

The room goes silent.

Annabeth and Nico listen with renewed interest.

"Well?" Thalia demands.

Chiron and Jason share a knowing glance. The centaur nods slightly, motioning for Jason to explain. After all, it _is_ his sister.

Jason sighs, "Look Thalia… a lot's changed in the past two years. We went on a quest the year before. There was this ship full of monsters, the _Princess Andromeda_. I spent a month tracking it through the Sea of Monsters in the Bermuda Triangle. When we came to Circe's Island we'd been captured by… um… what's-his-face…"

Rafael rolls his eyes, "We were captured by that Hermes kid, Jason. His name was Luke or something."

Annabeth's head snaps towards him, "Luke? Luke _Castellan_?"

"Yeah that's him," Jason says. "One of uh…your kind."

Thalia cringes slightly, "Go on…"

The son of Ares takes on from here, "On the boat they carried this weird golden sarcophagus. Luke's trying to help him reform, Luke's trying to bring him back to life."

"Who?"

Rafael hesitates, looking at Chiron. The centaur nods, wishing for him to continue, "Kronos." Even here, far away from the pit of Tartarus, the Titan Lord's name darkens the room.

Annabeth bursts out laughing, giving Chiron an amused glance, "You're joking right?"

No one answers her.

"You _are_ joking, right?"

Thalia swears she hears the sounds of crickets chirping.

Annabeth paces the interior of cabin 1, laughing hysterically, "This is crazy. They've gotta be pulling some kind of prank on us."

Thalia looks at her, worriedly, "Annabeth, they've not lying."

"But it doesn't make sense!" she growls. "What person in their right mind would raise Kronos. _Kronos_ of all deities."

"Ah, but remember Luke is insane," the daughter of Zeus points out.

"Why that maybe true, I still think he'd have some sense as to not do something so stupid and drastic."

Thalia smiles, "But you forget, men are idiots. And hoes too but that's a different matter entirely."

Annabeth groans, collapsing onto Thalia's bunk. "What are we supposed to do?" she mumbles.

Thalia pats her head, "Right now, there's nothing we can do. Trust me; we'll get the opportunity to beat Luke to a bloody pulp. But, unfortunately, that moment is not now. Just head to cabin 6 and get some rest, okay?"

"Fine," Annabeth grumbles, attempting to get up.

A knock at the door startles Thalia. The daughter of Athena raises an eyebrow, "Are you still getting used to knocking?"

"It's just not natural to me!" Thalia snaps. "If someone kicked the door open I'd be perfectly at ease with that."

Annabeth rolls her eyes, "And you say Luke is insane."

"Because he is!" Thalia argues, opening the door. Atalanta is standing there, an innocent look on her chubby little face. "Mommy, Chiron says it's time to go to bed."

Annabeth smiles warmly to her daughter, "Why don't you show me where Athena Cabin is?"

Atalanta's eyes widen, "Really?"

She nods. An adorable smile spread on the little girl's lips as she grasps her mother's hand, leading her to cabin 6. It's not as flashy as the other cabins; a silvery building with plain white curtains. A stone owl carved above the doorway studies Annabeth's every move with hardened onyx eyes.

Atalanta pushes open the Celestial Bronze door, inviting Annabeth in. The sounds of moving pencils and commanding voices instantly dies down. Seated at every work table, curious gray eyes turn to stare at the two. War maps are everywhere: on benches, on beds, scattered around the floor, cluttered under armor.

To Annabeth it feels as though she's walked in on a military operation. One of the older Athena kids, 18 maybe, smiles at her. She recognizes him from the meeting at the Big House.

"Good," he says. "Looks like we have our second opinion, Kelsey."

A girl nearby with bright orange hair and golden freckles turns to glare at him.

"I'm Malcom by the way, but you probably know that already. Well, anyway, welcome to cabin 6. Get ready to work your ass off."

Annabeth looks at him skeptically.

"Come on now," Malcom chuckles. "We won't bite…"

"…much," Kelsey adds with a smirk.

A slow smile comes to Annabeth's face. For the first time in forever this daughter of Athena finally feels like she's at home.


	3. Chapter 2

Annabeth wakes up in the middle of the night, startled. The cabin is quiet, most of her half-brothers and sisters already asleep. She pats the bed beside her, panicky when the distinct warmness lying beside her is gone. Just a few hours ago Atalanta had crawled into bed with Annabeth, snuggling up to her chest. Now the little girl is nowhere to be seen.

Annabeth jumps from her bed, rushing out the door. At the same time, she sees a small figure staring at her from across the inverted U the cabins are shaped in. Atalanta is there, a terrified look on her face. The little girl turns abruptly, heading towards cabin 3. Naturally, Annabeth follows.

It'd been two years since Annabeth had stepped foot in here. It looks the same really, except the bed is made, the floor free of any mess. In the center of the room the saltwater fountain glows, steam billowing off the gray sea rocks.

Atalanta's eyes meet Annabeth's, a wave of anxiety passing between them. Slowly, Annabeth crosses cabin 3, taking a seat beside her daughter. Both stare into the saltwater fountain before them.

It's an Iris message. Annabeth sees Percy, Celestial bronze chains bounding him to the ground. His face is scarred, dried blood clinging to the corner of his mouth like someone had punched him. Hard.

He gives the two of them a nervous glance, jerking his head to the far wall. From the darkness of the room Annabeth can barely make out what seems like a large crystal ball, five lights dancing inside of it. It's the same one from the cave of Hecate Annabeth had seen two years ago.

Percy looks at her, his eyes trying to tell her something. _"Prophecy," _he mouths.

"What are you doing?" says a familiar voice. A chill runs along Annabeth's spine as she realizes its Luke talking. "Is that an Iris message?"

Percy eyes go frantic, "The Labyrinth, Annabeth. That's how they'll get to camp! And whatever you do, don't trust T—"

The message fades.

"Daddy!" Atalanta cries, jumping to her feet. It's too late though, Percy's gone.

**Camp Half-Blood—June 2**

Annabeth doesn't get much rest, spending most of the night trying to get Atalanta to fall asleep. The daughter of Athena is practically stumbling over her feet walking to the Dining Pavilion. She sits at the Athena table, resting her head on the cool marble.

"Attention campers," Chiron announces.

Immediately the children's voices die down.

"Not only would we like to give the Hunters of Artemis a warm welcome, I would like to introduce our new sword instructor."

Annabeth looks up, curiosity getting the better of her. But suddenly, she wishes she hadn't, freezing in place.

The man is in his fifties, short gray hair, and a clipped beard. His form is impeccable, stronger than most men his age. But right at the base of his neck is a purplish blotch, a burn in the shape of bird.

"This is Quintus," Chiron says. But Annabeth knows the truth; she knows who this really is.

It's her old teacher Daedalus.

She glances at Nico and Thalia in disbelief, both of them returning the gaze. Quickly and silently, the three of them slide out of their seats, leaving the dining pavilion.

**Torrington, Connecticut—June 3**

Thalia, Nico and Rachel sit in a hospital's waiting room. They don't bother to move, or speak, or even glance at each other. All they do is worry, hoping Annabeth is going to be okay.

_They didn't stick around long to confront Daedalus. His sudden appearance at Camp Half-Blood was strange, very strange, but they had got a job to do. The three of them decided they would work everything out when they got back to camp._

_They had taken a flight to Connecticut, the fastest way to get to Clarion Ladies Academy's Award Ceremony at the Warner Theatre. Upon first glance, it was really nice theatre according to Thalia's standards. But then again, the last theater she had been to was unfortunately burned down. Partly due to her reckless behavior, Thalia might add. But as said before, it was nice theater with its 1,772 comfortable leather seats. That was, however, all she'd been able to see of the Warner Theater before Annabeth ushered her and Nico into the main lobby._

_There, men and woman, in what looked like expensive suits and gowns, bustled around chatting up their fellow wealthy acquaintances, and drinking glasses of wine. Here and there were teenage girls, each adorning fabulous dresses and jewels, attempting to mimic their mothers and mingle with each other._

_With simple jeans and a shirt they pretty much stuck out like sore thumbs. Not that Thalia cared about the ditty looks people were giving her. Annabeth had explained to them the plan: find Rachel and kill any monster that threatens to hurt her. It was a pretty simply task. Or so they thought._

_The three had split up after that to cover more ground. Annabeth wasn't sure how she landed herself in a Trap Room. One moment she was cruising along the main lobby and the next she's down here. Annabeth hoped it was all Athena's doing._

_Then she heard voices. Annabeth ducked behind a pile of broken lighting equipment, praying the voices didn't find her._

_"Did you hear something?" a gruff voice murmured._

_"No," deeper voice said. A moment of silence._

_"I smell demigods," the first voice said nervously._

_"Trainees," the second voice growled. "They're upstairs in the main lobby. Hurry up and set up the bombs."_

_"These will kill the oracle? They look a little small."_

_"Be careful with those," he snaps. "They're filled with Greek fire. Drop one single container and we're done for."_

_Annabeth's wasn't sure how long she was crouched behind the broken lighting equipment, listening to the two monsters bicker, at the same time fiddling with the objects in their hands. But as soon as they left the room Annabeth jumped from her hiding place._

_Back upstairs the award ceremony started. Thalia and Nico stood in a corner, their eyes scanning the crowd for any signs of Annabeth. _

_"…voted socialite of the year, Miss Cynthia Dare!"_

_The crowd applauded. Cynthia Dare, who pretty much resembled a younger and thinner Rachel, stood, smiling. Rachel rolled her eyes with an expression that said she'd much rather play with a pack of hellhounds than be here. Nevertheless she trailed behind her excited little sister. Mr. and Mrs. Dare followed at a much slow pace with a proud, regal expression._

_Thalia and Nico clapped half-heartedly, still searching for their missing friend. Cynthia's smile widened as she shook the hand of the man onstage. Just as Rachel was about to set foot on stage, they heard Annabeth's voice._

_"No!" she yelled running out from behind the curtains. She pushed Cynthia and the man off the stage. Unfortunately she didn't have time to save herself. The stage exploded, green flames erupting from beneath the stage._

_"Annabeth!" Thalia screamed, Nico frozen in place. Everything else after that was a blur. Next they know, they're waiting in this hospital room._

The automatic doors to the hospital slide open. Rachel steps into the waiting room with a weary expression.

"I called Chiron and told him what happened. Jason's on his way to pick me up. He should be here in ten minutes or so."

Nico nods dully.

Rachel grimaces, "Is she gonna be okay?"

Thalia sighs grimly, "The doctor says she's lucky to be alive, as if that makes us feel better. Annabeth's got third degree burns all over her back, second degree burns on her arms and a fourth degree burn on her right calf."

Her eyes turn sympathetic, "Will she have to get amputation?"

"We don't know yet. We're hoping the doctor will let us see her before surgery, maybe if we give her enough nectar and ambrosia she'll be okay."

"Don't give her too much, the last thing she needs is more burns."

Thalia bites back an insult just as she spots Annabeth's doctor walking towards them.

"She's awake," he says. "You can see her now."

The doctor doesn't have to tell them twice.

Annabeth lies on a hospital bed, gray eyes half open.

"Thalia, Nico?"

"We're here Annabeth," Nico murmurs.

Annabeth gives them a bittersweet smile, "Is Rachel okay?"

"She's fine," Thalia says grudgingly. "Jason's taking her back to camp. Chiron's orders."

"That's good."

A moment of silence.

Thalia's gaze softens, "You okay Wise Girl?"

She laughs painfully, "Trust me Thalia. It takes a lot to kill this daughter of Athena. Now where the fuck's that nectar? I wanna get out of here before they amputate my leg."

Nico grins, "There's the Annabeth we know."

He grabs the thermos of nectar from Thalia's laptop bag and the container of ambrosia.

"Open wide," Thalia mumbles.

In the end they're left with an empty thermos and one and half squares of ambrosia. Annabeth's burns make great progress, reducing to nothing more than a few clusters of scars. The fourth degree burn on her calf receives the most improvement. The skin, once black and charred, is now just a simple, annoying first degree burn.

Nico slips into the room with a stolen pair of jeans, a tank top and a bra. That's pretty good considering Annabeth's old clothes were burned in the explosion. "Couldn't find a decent pair of underwear," he says uncomfortably.

Annabeth makes a face, "Why on Earth would I wear someone else's underwear? I could get an STD!"

"I don't think you can get sexually transmitted diseases that way."

Annabeth rolls her eyes, "I was joking..."

"You shouldn't joke about STDs," Thalia says seriously.

"Whatever," Annabeth growls.

She sighs, "Can you stand?"

"I think so," Annabeth says.

"Good, Nico turn around and cover your eyes."

He raises an eyebrow, "What? Why?"

Thalia rolls her eyes, "I don't think Percy would appreciate you seeing his girlfriend naked."

"I'm not his girlfriend," Annabeth retorts. She always had loathed that title.

Thalia glares at her, "Do you really get into this argument at the moment? Not only will the doctor be back soon I have a whole cabin of Aphrodite kids to back me up on this. We can settle this whole issue right now; it's only an Iris message away."

"Fine," Annabeth grumbles.

Once Annabeth's dressed she looks at Nico expectantly, "So? How do you plan we get out of here?"

Thalia and Nico share a devious grin.

"Actually," Thalia says. "I've always wanted to try something."

"Which is?" Annabeth presses.

Nico chuckles, "Free falling from a seven story window."

"Is that all?" Annabeth questions sarcastically.

Thalia rolls her eyes, pushing open the window in Annabeth's hospital room, "Are you coming or not?"

Her eyebrow's furrow; she's pretty sure the window was locked a few moments ago, "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope," Thalia murmurs before jumping out the window. Nico follows.

"Yup, my friends are insane."

**Mount Saint Helens—June 2**

"That was stupid of you Percy," Luke hisses circling around a bronze brazier. Images flicker around the flames: _The Princess Andromeda, _Mount Saint Helens, Mount Tam, Olympus, New York.

The son of Poseidon doesn't respond.

"Don't worry though," he smiles. "We'll put you to work soon."

Percy scoffs, "Like I'd ever work for you. I'd rather play poker with Medusa."

"You would," Luke says, "If _she _was in danger."

He rolls his eyes, "Annabeth's a big girl. She'll kick your ass."

Luke shakes his head, "I wasn't referring to Annabeth."

The image in the flames shifts. It's Camp Half-Blood, or more specifically, cabin 3. Looking into the saltwater fountain is no other than Atalanta.

_"Daddy,"_ she whispers. _"Where are you?"_

**Camp Half-Blood—June 4**

They'd arrived at camp the day before, immediately falling asleep. Especially Annabeth, the one who needed sleep the most. But

_In her dream Annabeth stands in a cavern on the edge of an enormous pit. Annabeth could already tell the abyss was the entrance to Tartarus; the eerie, malevolent chill gave it away. _

_A cold laugh echoes from the darkness below, "If it isn't our diminutive heroine." His voice is like the blade of knife scraping against stone. "One your way to another great victory?"_

_She forces herself to speak, "Kronos?" Annabeth chokes out._

_He laughs again, "Don't let me stop you daughter of Athena. Perhaps this time, when you fail, you'll wonder if it's worthwhile slaving after the gods."_

In the morning, after having a small chat with Chiron, the three of them had headed to breakfast with the other campers.

"This place isn't so bad," Nico muses as he and Annabeth take a seat at Zeus's table. "Three square meals a day; you couldn't ask for anything else."

Jason quirks an eyebrow, "Are you guys supposed to be here?"

Annabeth smirks, "Do you see anyone trying to stop us?"

Everyone's gawking at Nico and Annabeth but in truth no one makes a move to get up. Chiron and Dionysus are strangely absent leaving _Quintus_ to watch over the campers. He simply gives the two demigods a questioning look but quickly turns a blind eye.

Thalia rolls her eyes, "As I was going to say…what did you want to tell me?"

Annabeth bites her lip, "Atalanta got an Iris message two nights ago… from Percy."

Nico and Thalia listen with renewed interest, "Where is he?"

"Luke has him."

Nico and Thalia go silent. They stare at Annabeth in disbelief.

Jason looks at the three of them, "That's bad, right?"

"Duh!" Thalia says, flicking Jason's forehead.

"Ow!" he murmurs. "I was just asking a question."

"Anyway," Annabeth says. "He said something about Luke using the Labyrinth. He said that's how they'll get to camp."

Nico's eyebrows furrow, "But… I thought Camp Half-Blood didn't have a Labyrinth entrance."

"Then how'd he get here?" Thalia says, glancing over at Daedalus.

"Well he is a demigod. He could just pass through Half-Blood Hill."

"I seriously doubt that," Annabeth states.

Nico sighs, "Then why don't you go talk to him about it?"

At noon Annabeth heads to the sword arena. Just as he she suspects, Daedalus is there.

Mrs. O' Leary, chewing on a practice dummy, barks happily at her. Daedalus doesn't spare her glance, "I was wondering when you'd catch me alone."

"I don't get it," Annabeth mumbles. "Why are you here?"

He doesn't answer, grabbing two swords from the rack.

She sighs in frustration, "Is there an entrance to the Labyrinth in Camp Half-Blood?"

Daedalus throws the sword at her, smirking, "Show me what you've learned from the Labyrinth. If you can defeat me, I'll tell you."

Annabeth can't help but smile at this, "You're on." She steadies her sword, eyes narrowing. Her teacher is still grinning, "_Dokos," _he says half-heartedly.

Annabeth had studied Daedalus' style for some time now. His moves were difficult to read like playing a game of chess: difficult to decipher your opponents pattern until he made that last stroke, winning with a sword at your throat.

Annabeth lunges which the architect blocks easily. "Have you always been a swordsman?" she murmurs, parrying Daedalus' overhead cut.

"I've been many things, my dear. When you live for a couple thousand years you tend to take on many hobbies."

He jabs at the same time Annabeth sidesteps. Daedalus' shoulder straps slide down, allowing Annabeth to catch sight of a purple blotch on his neck. A mark she'd only seen a few times before: a burn in the shape of a partridge.

"You never did tell me about the thing on your neck."

"You children are far too nosy," he mutters.

"A reminder of Perdix?" Daedalus loses rhythm. Annabeth hits the hilt of his sword, knocking the blade out of his hands.

Daedalus rubs his fingers, glaring at Annabeth playfully, "And here I thought Perseus was the master of distractions."

"It tends to catch on when you start spending time with him."

He smiles cruelly, "And judging by the young one in cabin 6 it appears you and Jackson spend far too much time with each other."

She holds up her arms as a sign of defeat, "Okay, you win. Now tell me about the Labyrinth entrance."

Daedalus sighs, "I've been watching Camp Half-Blood for some time now. Luke had come to me prior to the Golden Fleece being stolen. He wished for my alliance, to allow him safe passage through the maze. I don't control the Labyrinth completely but I do have some affect over it, I suppose."

Her gaze hardens, "What did you tell him?"

"Now I don't exactly play favorites Annabeth. I will admit, I did consider his offer. I came through the west woods, an entrance straight from Zeus's fist. I'm here to… size up this camp. To determine if it's worth saving."

"And...?" she presses.

"It's a… good place I suppose. I also trust the Olympians far more than I ever will the Titans. I am, however, afraid these demigods won't last long. Already their numbers are dwindling, same going to the gods. We barely won the first war, a second will destroy us."

"But you are helping us?" she asks slowly.

He gives her a sly grin, "Perhaps."

Annabeth frowns, recalling something from Percy's Iris message, "He said they'd use the Labyrinth. But if you're on our side, how can Luke get to camp if you're going to stop him?"

"Now, now Annabeth, I never said I could stop Luke from travelling through the Labyrinth. He only wished for easy passage to make the trip quicker. He'll still be able to wander through the Labyrinth halls in search of the entrance from the west woods. I can perhaps stall his attack but I am afraid that is all I can do."

"Then what can I do?" she demands.

"You," Daedalus says grimly, "can visit the oracle."

"Rachel?" Annabeth says, knocking on the door to Rachel's room in the Big House. The door creaks open, the room lit by a candle.

From what she can see, it looks like a normal hotel suite except for all the papers cluttering the floor. Annabeth walks in slowly, careful to avoid stepping on any drawings. A plain desk in far corner, for some reason, catches her eye.

Sitting on it are four recent sketches.

The first one is much like the Iris message from before: Percy gagged and chained with Luke standing over him, smiling. The second is in the Underworld, a black river cutting straight through a plain of magma. The River Lethe. The third image is one Annabeth recognizes instantly, Anaetus' Arena. The last is perhaps the most vivid of the four sketches. A shattered palace, two people struggling in the center of the destruction, boulder-like clouds resting on their shoulders. Annabeth squints her eyes, trying to get a good at their faces…

"You're not supposed to be here." Rachel's voice startles her.

Annabeth steps away from the desk quickly, "I'm sorry, the door opened and, uh…" she trails off, watching as green mist billow around their feet, making Rachel's sketches disappear.

She looks Rachel straight in eyes which glow serpent green:

"_You shall delve into the darkness of the endless maze,_" she utters, speaking in an eerie voice that doesn't seem to belong to her.

_"The Titans and the traitors raise._

_The Oracle of Delphi shows the trail,_

_Half-Bloods and Hunters combined prevail._

_May the souls of the Chosen Ones be put to rest,_

_And lose a love to worse than death."_

**Camp Half-Blood—June 4**

"Why are we here again?" Thalia asks irritably, tapping her fingers on the Ping-Pong table.

Rachel rolls her eyes, "Dionysus called this meeting of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy or whatever." She gives Annabeth a steely glare

"Okay, I get it!" Annabeth snaps. "Privacy is important, I understand that now!"

At that moment Mr. D comes in, rolling his eyes, "Well you're all here early."

"Actually," Thalia points out, "We were all on time. You're just late."

His eyes flare, "A god is never late. Everyone is just early."

Mr. D takes a seat at one end of the table next to Chiron. Zoe and Bianca take the other end. Thalia, Annabeth and Nico sit along the right beside Jason, Miranda Gardiner, Malcolm and Castor from Dionysus. The other head councilors—Jake Mason, Piper McLean, Lee Fletcher, and the Stoll brothers—sit on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during a game of Capture the Flag, courtesy of the hunters while Thalia, Nico and Annabeth were away. Currently, they're resting up in the infirmary.

Zoe starts the meeting off on a positive note, "This is pointless."

"Well aren't you a ball of sunshine,"

"There is no time for talk," Zoe continues. "The Golden Fleece must be returned so we can leave this retched place."

"And go where?" Chiron asks

"Well, the prophecy says Rachel will lead us." Bianca says. She turns to Annabeth, "You heard the prophecy."

"Yes," Zoe agrees. "Bianca and I can take the Oracle and depart in search of the fleece."

"You're missing something, as usual," Nico says. _"Half-Bloods and Hunters combined prevail. _We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoe snaps. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

"_Your," _Thalia grumbles. "Nobody has said _thy_ in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times."

"_Yer," _Zoe says. "We do not need _yer_ help."

"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Our half-bloods and your Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D used, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. _"__The traitors and the Titans raise. Lose a love to worse than death._That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighs, "With all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raises his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia says stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoe grimaces, but everyone can tell Thalia has a point.

"We must not delay," Chiron says. Now, decide who goes on this quest. Zoe?"

Everybody looks at her. "Bianca and I will go, of course." Zoe grunts, "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We still need strength of numbers."

"That'll be perfect," Annabeth murmurs. "If you're trying to get yourself killed. The less people accompanying us, the better."

"You said us," Jake Mason, points out.

"Us. Me, Thalia and Nico. We know the Labyrinth better than any other half-blood. Besides, I don't see anyone volunteering to go on this, er, quest."

"Why do you really want to go?" Zoe asks. "Because of thy friend Percy?"

Annabeth's face reddens, "No! I mean, partly. But just because… we're supposed to go!"

Nobody rises to her defense. Mr. D looks bored, still reading his magazine. Piper, the Stoll brothers, and Jake Mason stare at the table. Bianca gives her a look of both pity and disgust.

"Fine," Zoe says flatly. "But our main priority is for the fleece. The sooner we are no longer needed, the better. May this meeting be adjourned Chiron?"

"So be it," he says. "Rachel, Bianca and Zoe will accompany Thalia, Annabeth, and Nico. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"–he glances at Dionysus–"present company included, we hope–be with you."


	4. Chapter 3

**Camp Half-Blood—June 5**

Annabeth had hoped to get a good night sleep before the quest. But, like always, it just isn't going to work out like that.

That night in her dreams, Annabeth's standing in a hospital room. It's like a scene from a movie, doctors running everywhere to revive a dead woman. And then, as the door opens, everything stops. Like someone's pressed the pause button.

She sees a familiar minor god at to doorway, taking on the scene with a dull sadness. With every step he takes past the frozen doctors and nurses, the room chills. When Thanatos touches the woman's forehead, Annabeth's surroundings darken. The feel of death slowly creeps upon Annabeth.

An image shimmers. The woman's shade appears by her bedside, watching in cold disgust at her motionless body. She sighs at Thanatos, "I am dead, aren't I?"

He gives her a small nod. Thanatos stares at the woman like a ticking time bomb, wondering when she plans to escape from him or have an emotional breakdown. But the woman does neither.

"Come, Ms. Di Angelo," Thanatos says simply, offering her a hand.

Before grabbing it, she hesitates, "The nurse with the torch… he sent her to me?"

His death god's eyes sadden, "It takes nerve to refuse the advances of an Olympian, Maria. He has… connections."

Maria Di Angelo continues to stare at him.

Thanatos sighs, "When Alcmene was in labor with Heracles, the goddess of childbirth, Elieithyia, was sent by Hera to stop the delivery in an attempt to kill both mother and child. While it didn't succeed, thanks to the maid Galanthis, history has an annoying way of repeating itself. Only there was no one to stop Elieithyia this time."

Panic crosses her face, "My son, is he…?"

"No," Thanatos says quickly. "He is… a special child. Your son is very much alright. With his sister now, I suppose."

This seems to lift the weight off of Maria's shoulders.

"Come, we must go."

Again she hesitates. "Promise me something first."

He smiles slightly, almost warily, "I admire you, Maria. Tell me, what could you possibly want now that you're dead?"

"My son," Maria Di Angelo says simply, sternly. "Watch him, will you? I have a feeling he'll visit the Underworld often. Don't let him amount to too much trouble."

Thanatos looks at her for a moment, as if deciphering her before answering. "Okay."

The scene changes. Suddenly Annabeth's standing in the stateroom of the _Princess Andromeda_.

The windows are open on to a moonlit sea. Cold wind rustles the velvet drapes. She sees Luke kneeling on a Persian rug in front of a golden sarcophagus. On the lid, surrounded by scenes of carnage and power, are letters even older than Ancient Greek. It's a language of magic, one she can't read exactly, but Annabeth knows what it says: KRONOS, LORD OF TIME.

In the moonlight, Luke's blond hair looks pure white. He's wearing an ancient Greek _chiton _and a white _himation_, a kind of cape that flows down his shoulders. The white clothes make him look timeless and a little surreal, like one of the minor gods on Mount Olympus.

"Our spies report success, my lord," he says. "Camp Half-Blood is sending a quest, as you predicted. Our side of the bargain is almost complete. The Princess Andromeda is journeying through the Panama Canal as we speak."

_Excellent_. The voice of Kronos doesn't so much speak, simply piercing her mind like a dagger. It's freezing with cruelty. _Once we have the means to navigate, my brothers will lead the vanguard through._

Luke closes his eyes as if collecting his thoughts, when he opens them his irises are solid black, "My lord, they will not be at full strength. Perhaps I should lead—"

_No. _the voice is quiet but absolutely firm. _They will lead. You have already failed me once before, Erebus._

"But the form, my lord…" The voice of Erebus begins to shake.

_Show me your sword, Erebus._

He draws his sword. Backbiter's double edge glows wickedly—half steel, half celestial bronze. Annabeth had almost been killed several times by that sword, especially over the past two years.

It's an evil weapon, able to kill both mortals and monsters. It's the only blade she would actually ever fear.

_You pledged yourself to me, _Kronos reminds him. _You took this sword as proof of your oath._

"Yes, my lord. It's just—"

_You wanted power. I gave you that. You are now beyond harm. Soon you will join me in ruling the world of gods and mortals. Do you not wish to avenge yourself? To see Olympus destroyed?_

A shiver runs through Luke's body. "Yes."

The coffin glows, a harsh golden light filling the room. _Then make ready the strike force. As soon as the bargain is done, we shall move forward. First, Camp Half-Blood will be reduced to ashes. Once those bothersome heroes are eliminated—_

There's a knock on the stateroom doors. The light of the coffin fades.

Luke rises, sheathing his sword. He adjusts his white clothes, taking a deep breath.

"Come in."

The doors open. Two _dracaenae _slither in—snake women with double serpent trunks instead of legs. Between them walks a familiar she-demon. Kelli, an _empousa _Annabeth ran into during Percy's Christmas trip in Las Vegas. Her friend Tammy, fortunately, didn't make it out of the casino alive.

"Hello, Luke," Kelli smiles. She's wearing a red dress which, sadly, makes her look hot. But Annabeth had seen her real form. She knows what the demon is hiding: mismatched legs, red eyes, fangs, and flaming hair.

"What is it, demon?" Luke's voice is cold. "I told you not to disturb me."

Kelli pouts. "That's not very nice. You look tense. How about a nice shoulder massage?"

Luke steps back, "If you have something to report, say it. Otherwise leave!"

"I don't know why you're so huffy these days. You _used _to be fun to hang around."

"That was before I saw what you did to that boy in Seattle."

"Oh, he meant nothing to me," Kelli says. "Just a snack, really. You know my heart belongs to you, Luke."

"Thanks, but no thanks. Now report or get out."

Kelli shrugs, "Fine. The advanced team is ready, as you requested. We can leave—" she frowns.

"What is it?" Luke asks.

"A presence," Kelli says. "Your senses are getting dull, Luke. We're being watched."

She scans the stateroom, her eyes focusing right on Annabeth. Her face withers into a hag's. She bares her fangs, lunging. Annabeth wakes up with a start, her heart pounding. She subconsciously rubs her throat, feeling for fangs.

Just after dawn, the quest group meets at Zeus's Fist. Annabeth has her things packed—a thermos with nectar, a baggie of ambrosia, a bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. Her knife is strapped to her arm for easy access.

It's a clear morning. The fog has burned off, the sky is blue.

Campers should be having their lessons today, flying Pegasai and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, Annabeth and her friend will be heading underground.

The Hunters stand apart from the others, wishing Zoe and Bianca luck.

Chiron, Daedalus, and Mrs. O'Leary stand with the other campers who'd come to wish them well, but there's too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Jake Mason and his siblings work on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron's decided they need to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.

Thalia's doing one last check on her supply pack with Nico when Annabeth comes over. Nico frowns, "You look like shit."

"Thanks Nico," she murmurs sarcastically. "You always know how to make a girl feel special."

He shrugs, "I'm just being honest."

Before Annabeth can voice her witty comeback, Chiron trots over with _Quintus_ in toe. "Well, it appears you are ready!"

He tries to sound upbeat, but anyone can tell he's just as anxious. Annabeth isn't sure she wants to scare him anymore. But then she thinks about last night's dream, knowing she has to tell someone. Her eyes focus on Daedalus. "Hey, uh, Quintus, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?"

His eyes narrow slightly, trying to read her expression, "Of course, dear."

"I'll be right back," Annabeth says, ignoring Thalia and Nico's weird glances. Chiron raises an eyebrow, but doesn't make a move to follow.

"Last night," she says once out of earshot, "I dreamed about Luke and Kronos." She tells him the details. The news seems to weigh on his shoulders.

"Do you know what he meant about a bargain?" Annabeth asks.

"I am not sure," Daedalus says honestly, "I have already declined them passage. There are others in the Labyrinth though and Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will."

"Not anyone," Annabeth smirks. "You're here."

Daedalus manages a smile, "No. Perhaps not anyone. But, Annabeth, you must beware. Trust no one, do you understand?"

"Rule Number 9…" she murmurs.

Daedalus stares off into the trees, "One other thing, I do not understand…this talk of Kronos's brothers leading the vanguard… as you know they are trapped in Tartarus."

A chill runs down her spine, "_The Titans and the traitors raise._"

"I don't know," he says at last. "But, you must stop that before it happens. I am unsure how they plan to succeed in releasing the Titan brothers from their prison but—"

Thalia and Chiron walk over, curious as to why Daedalus and Annabeth are taking so long.

"Annabeth, you ready?"

She nods, looking over her shoulder to see _Quintus_ watching her carefully. He raises his hand in a final farewell but the critical look never leaves his eyes.

"Take care," Chiron tells them. "And good hunting."

"You too," Thalia says, glancing at the other campers. Atalanta, Alexander and Helen come bounding from the woods, running straight for their mothers.

Atalanta hugs Annabeth's leg, "Please don't go."

Annabeth stares at her daughter's sad little face, "I have to go. I'm sorry. I'll only be gone for a little while, I'll be back. I promise."

Nico watches them uncomfortably. It's still weird, his head trying wrap around the fact his two best friends are twenty years old already with kids of their own.

He glances at Bianca, who's also staring in their direction, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she says curtly. "Your friends are… interesting.

Nico's eyes flare at her bitter tone. "Listen Bianca, I never asked you to randomly pop out of the woods and save my ass. I don't even want you here or on this quest. But if you insist on tagging along, do me a favor and don't judge Thalia or Annabeth."

"I'm entitled to my own opinions about people. If I don't _have_ to like them for your sake."

"That's not my fucking problem then. Annabeth and Thalia are good people. Yeah they've made mistake, we've all have. If you have an issue with them, don't come bitching to me about it because they're still my family. More my family then you are."

"Whatever Nico," Bianca growls. "Do whatever the fuck you want."

She walks over to the rocks, where Zoe and Rachel are waiting. A few minutes later, Thalia and Annabeth joins him.

"Everything okay?" Annabeth asks.

"Peachy," he grumbles. "Let's go."

They all stare at the crack between the boulders as if the entrance is about to swallow them.

"Well," Rachel sighs, "good-bye sunshine."

"Hello rocks," Bianca agrees.

Thalia rolls her eyes, the six of them descending into darkness.

**Labyrinth—June 5**

They make it in a hundred feet before being hopelessly lost.

The tunnel is round, like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron barred portholes every ten feet. Each of the portholes opening up into infinite darkness.

Rachel tries her best to guide them.

"If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," she says, "we should be able to find our way out again by reversing course."

"That'll work," Thalia mumbles sarcastically.

Unfortunately, as soon as she says that, the left wall disappears. They find themselves in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, and no idea how they'd gotten there.

"Um, which way did we come in?" Bianca says nervously.

Everyone else shrugs. Nico smiles, "That's the beauty of the Labyrinth. In a matter of moments you get hopelessly lost."

Bianca rolls her eyes, "I'm just loving you positive attitude little brother."

Rachel sweeps her flashlight beam over the archways of the eight tunnels. As far as everyone else can tell, they're identical. "That way," she says.

"How do you know?" Nico says.

"Deductive reasoning."

Thalia arches an eyebrow, "So…you're guessing?"

"Just come on," she retorts.

The tunnel she'd chosen narrows quickly. The walls turn to gray cement, the ceiling so low it forces them to hunch over.

"I can't stand it anymore," Bianca whispers. "Are we there yet?"

"We've been down here maybe five minutes," Annabeth tells her.

Just then Rachel pauses. "Thalia, what is this?"

The daughter of Zeus stares at her curiously, following Rachel's line of sight. A small grin spreads across face, "I remember that!"

"Remember what?" Nico asks, looking at the strange carving on the wall. His eyes narrow, trying to read the messy font. His dyslexia only makes it worse. It takes him a moment to read it, "Thalia was here, suckers…"

She nods happily, "Remember that game of hide and seek when we were six?"

His scowls, "You're telling me those five days you were here?"

"It's not my fault you suck at finding people."

They keep shuffling forward, the tunnel getting narrower. Soon it opens up into a huge room. Rachel shines a light around the walls. "Whoa."

The whole room is covered in mosaic tiles. The pictures are grimy and faded, but they can still make out the colors—red, blue, green, gold. The frieze shows the Olympian gods at a feast. There's Poseidon, with his trident, holding out grapes for Dionysus to turn into wine. Zeus partying with satyrs, and Hermes was flying through the air on his winged sandals. The pictures are beautiful, yes, but not very accurate. They'd seen the gods before. Dionysus isn't that handsome, and Hermes's nose isn't that big either.

In the middle of the room is an empty three-tiered fountain like it hasn't held water in a long time.

"What is this place?" Bianca mutters. "It looks—"

"Roman," Zoe says. "These mosaics are about two thousand years old."

"But how can they be Roman?" she asks.

"The Labyrinth is a patchwork," Annabeth says. "It's always expanding, adding pieces. It's the only work of architecture that grows by itself."

Thalia nods, "We used to eat here. The tunnel that we came from never led into this room before. You used to find it around Antaeus's Arena."

Rachel cringes, "You make the Labyrinth sound like its alive."

A groaning noise echoes from the tunnel in front of them.

Nico offers them a mysterious smile, "That's because it is."

They're walking through a dirt tunnel when they come to a crossroads. To the left, dirt turns to solid stone, to the right a green mist covers the floor so it's impossible to see what they're stepping in.

"Which way?" Thalia asks. Rachel's ready to answer but Nico and Bianca tense.

"Left," they say in unison.

Annabeth frowns, "How can you be sure?"

"Because something is coming from the right," Bianca says.

"Something big," Nico agrees. "And in a hurry."

"Left is sounding pretty good," Rachel decides, leading them down the dark corridor.

The good news: the left tunnel is straight with no side exits, twists, or turns.

The bad news: it's a dead end.

After sprinting a hundred yards, they run into an enormous boulder that completely blocks their path. Behind them, the sounds of dragging footsteps and heavy breathing echoes down the corridor. Something—definitely not human—is on their tail and its moving fast.

"Nico," Thalia says, "Can't you—"

"I th—"

Something whistles through the air. Pain explodes through Nico's shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanks him backwards, slamming him into the boulder. His shoulder is pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger—like projectile about a foot long. His skin feels like it's on fire—poison.

A dark silhouette moves towards them. They see a human face before Thalia takes out her shield Aegis. Good decision too as more black spikes are shot from down the hall.

"Bianca, don't just stand there!" Thalia growls. "Get us out of here dammit!"


	5. Chapter 4

**Pikes Peak, Colorado—June 7**

Nico wakes up cold and shivering. He doesn't remember much, just them being attacked and Thalia screaming at his sister before Nico blacked out.

"Fuck," he grumbles, as he twitches his swollen shoulder. A small fire ignites in his arm.

"You'll be okay." Bianca leans over, tucking a warm blanket around him. Still, Nico shudders, looking paler than usual.

He blinks at his surroundings, trying to figure out where on Earth he is. Next to him, a campfire blazes, turning the air sharp with smoke. Firelight flickers against rock walls. They're in a shallow cave, but it doesn't offer much protection. Outside, the wind howls, blowing the heavy rain sideways.

"What happened?" he murmurs.

He sees Thalia curled away from the fire, her back resting against the cave wall, "You got shot by a Manticore. His spikes were poisonous apparently. We risked as much nectar as we could. Zoe did some little nature magic trick on you, but I don't think it's working."

Zoe Nightshade glares at her from the other side of the cave, "Well he isn't dead, is he?"

"It's kind of hard to tell," she says giving him a playful smile. Her challenging gaze turns back to Zoe, "Besides, Nico can't die from poison."

The Hunter glares at her, "Thou are, by far, the most annoying creature I've had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting."

Thalia's grin widens, "You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that."

Zoe screams in frustration, "Fine. If you need me, I will be somewhere far, far away."

Thalia bursts into laughter, "You said _you._"

"What?"

"You said you. You said you. You said you. You said you…" she taunts.

"Bianca!" Zoe shrieks in a shrill voice.

Bianca sighs, "Rachel."

The oracle, who's been quiet the whole time, gets up without a word. The two follow Zoe without complaint.

When Thalia's sure the three girls are far from hearing range, she rolls her eyes, "I thought we'd never get rid of them."

Annabeth shakes her head, "I just can't believe Nico slept through all the shouting matches."

He sighs, "What'd I miss?"

"You missed me narrowly punching your sister in the face," Thalia retorts.

Annabeth sighs, "No offense Nico, but your sister is a bitch. Not as bitchy as Zoe, but still a bitch."

Thalia continues her rant, "I mean not everyone can be a fucking thirty-three year old virgin. And then, I ask about Zoe's age. You know simple human curiosity right? And she's calls me a nosy _scullion_. What the fuck is scullion? I don't even know what a scullion is and you're going to use the name against me in an argument. Get with the fucking times Nightshade!

"And then your sister—oh, don't get me started on your sister—Annabeth just tries to ask her a question. And she goes fucking nuts, I—"

"Wait, what?" he asks turning to his friend. "What question?"

Annabeth shifts uncomfortably, "I…I just… I had a dream. I… I just wanted to know how your mother died."

There's a long pause.

"When I was born," Nico says with finality, "The doctors told Bianca it was… high blood pressure or a blood clot or something."

She stares into the flames of the campfire, "Are you sure? She wasn't killed… by anyone?"

"That's not what happened. I—" he tenses, looking towards the cave entrance. "Did you hear that?"

For a second, nothing. Then they hear it: howls piercing the night.

"Wolves," Thalia says. "They sound close."

Annabeth rises, grabbing her knife. Thalia gets to her feet too. Nico tries, but black spots dance before his eyes.

"Stay there," Annabeth tells him. "We'll protect you."

He grits his teeth, "Maybe it's my manly pride or something, but isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

Just outside the firelight at the entrance of the cave, they see a pair of red eyes glowing in dark.

More wolves edge into the firelight—black beasts bigger than Great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. Their fangs gleam, their red eyes disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front is almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained with blood.

Nico stands shakily, stepping forward. Just as Thalia's ready to pull him back, he murmurs something in an unfamiliar language.

"Latin?" Annabeth asks, staring at him with wide eyes. "I don't think a dead language will have much effect on wild animals."

But as she says this, the alpha wolf curls his lip. One of his lieutenants tries to advance, but the alpha wolf snaps at his ear. The wolves back away, disappearing into the dark.

"I've gotta study Latin," Thalia murmurs. "What'd you say, Nico?"

Annabeth curses, "It wasn't enough. Look."

The wolves edge back into the firelight, only this time the alpha wolf is missing. They don't attack.

They wait—at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit. All of them stare at Nico warily.

Annabeth shakes her head, "Why do I get the strange feeling they know you?"

"Are you that popular?" Thalia asks.

"Depends on your definition of popular," he says watching the silhouette of a man wading through the wolf pack.

"Stick together," Nico orders. "They respect a pack. And Thalia, no crazy stuff."

"Since when did you become Alpha," she mumbles.

The wolves' part and the man steps into the firelight. His hair is greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of bones. His robes are tattered furs—wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others they can't seem to identify. By the looks of it the furs cured, and judging by the smell, they aren't very fresh either. His frame is lithe and muscular, like a distance runner's. But the creepiest thing is his face: the man's thin pale skin pulled tightly over his skull. His teeth are sharpened like fangs. His eyes glow bright red like his wolves fixing on Nico with absolute hatred.

"Ecce," he says, "qui me fugit praeda."

"Speak English!" Thalia growls in frustration. Annabeth smacks her shoulder, shooting Thalia a murderous glare.

The wolf man snarls, "Tell your _canis_ to mind her tongue, Di Angelo. I'd hate to rip the throat out of such a pretty girl."

Thalia glowers at him.

The wolf man studies their little group, his nostrils twitching. "So it's true," he muses. "A child of Zeus. A son of Hades. And a daughter of Athena. Although he recalled you travelling with two Hunters."

"You were told about us?" Nico asks. "By whom?

The man snarls—perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. "Oh, we've been patrolling for you all across the west, son of Hades, hoping we'd be the first to find you. Now that the Manticore failed to kill you, Master Luke will reward me well. I am Lycaon, king of the wolves. And my pack is hungry, demigods."

The wolves snarl in the darkness.

Lycaon glares at Nico's sword. He moves to each side as if looking for an opening, but Nico's blade moves with him.

"Leave," Thalia orders. "There's no food for you here."

Lycaon bares his fangs. "If I had my way," he says regretfully, "I'd kill you first, daughter of Zeus. Your father made me what I am. I was the powerful mortal king of Arcadia, with fifty fine sons, and Zeus slew them all with his lightning bolts."

"For good reason!" Nico hisses.

"So, you do know him?"

"I do," Annabeth answers. The details of the myth come back to her—a short, horrible story she and Daedalus once laughed over in his workshop.

"Lycaon invited Zeus to dinner," she says. "But the king wasn't sure it was really Zeus. So to test his powers, Lycaon tried to feed him human flesh. Zeus got outraged—"

"And killed my sons!" Lycaon howls. The wolves behind him howl too.

"So Zeus turned him into a wolf," Annabeth finishes. "They call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf."

"The king of wolves," Nico adds. "An immortal, smelly, vicious mutt."

Lycaon growls, "I should've torn you apart when you were an infant."

"But you didn't have the skill to kill a three year old," Nico jeers.

"Stop it," Thalia says in bewilderment. "Lycaon, you said you wanted to kill me first, but…?"

"Sadly, child, you are spoken for. Because of the Manticore's failure, you are to be delivered alive to Master Luke. He has a special task in stored for you."

"You're going to leave now," Nico says angrily. He'll be damned if Luke gets a hold of Thalia again. "Before we destroy you."

Lycaon's red eyes crinkle with humor, "A brave try, boy. But unfortunately only the daughter of Lord Zeus is needed alive. The rest of you, I'm afraid, are dinner."

Nico takes a shaky step forward, "You're not killing anyone, Lycaon. Not without going through me."

Lycaon howls, extending his claws. He lunges. Nico slashes at him, but his Stygian Iron sword passes straight through as if the wolf king isn't there.

Lycaon laughs, "Gold, bronze, steel, iron—none of these are any good against my wolves, son of Hades."

"Silver!" Annabeth shouts. "Aren't werewolves hurt by silver?"

"We don't have any silver!" Thalia snaps. Wolves leap into the firelight. A bolt of lightning erupts from sky, striking the grass just outside the mouth of the cave. A wall of flames bursts up from the ground. Wolves yelp and retreat.

Lycaon glances uneasily at the barrier of flames now separating his wolves from the demigods.

"We won't hold for long," Thalia tells them. "Whatcha got?"

"Nothing," Annabeth says. "Not a weapon that works."

"Lightning?" Nico asks.

Thalia grimaces, "I can't summon as much. You're not the only one who's tired."

Lycaon laughs, "I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me."

The flames begin to sputter out. Nico thinks, this isn't an awful way to die, beside his friends. If only he could say goodbye to Bianca…

Then a ripping sound cuts through the wind—like a piece of tearing cardboard. A long stick sprouts from the neck of the nearest wolf—the shaft of a silver arrow. The wolf writhes in pain, melting into a puddle of shadows.

More arrows. More wolves fall. An arrow flashes towards Lycaon, but the wolf king catches it in midair. Then he yelps in pain. When he drops the arrow, it leaves a charred, smoking gash across his palm.

He snarls, shifting into the Alpha wolf they had seen before. He surges forward, jumping over the dim wall of flames. A few more members of Lycaon's pack follow his lead.

More arrows are shot out of nowhere, into the mouth of the cave. The demigods dodge the arrows, charging out of the cave. Annabeth grabs a discarded arrow, stabbing it into a wolf's throat. She grabs another arrow, stabbing another wolf in the thigh. Through the chaos Annabeth can barely make out Zoe and Bianca making their way towards the disarray, shooting volley after volley of silver arrows. Rachel is with them too, fumbling with a bow.

A wolf slams into her, knocking Annabeth head first into an oak tree. She staggers back to her feet, whirling around, just in time to see another arrow embed itself into Lycaon's shoulder. The wolf king stumbles, howling in pain.

He shifts back to human form, clutching his shoulder. "Curse them!" Lycaon yells. More howls echo from the woods, farther away.

Lycaon turns to the sound, smirking despite the arrow in his shoulder. He growls at to the rest of his pack. The wolves turn, retreating to the forest.

The wolf king's glowing red eyes fix on Annabeth for a moment before disappearing into the night.

A heartbeat later, Zoe and Bianca sprint out of the woods. "So close," Zoe curses, grabbing her discarded weapons.

"Lycaon's alluded us decades," Bianca murmurs. "He always strikes when Artemis is away."

"We're alive," Annabeth points out.

"True," Zoe muses.

Bianca stiffens, her eyes fixing on an object lying by the mouth of the cave, "Where's Nico?"

Annabeth follows her gaze. Resting on the charred grass is an abandoned black sword. Thalia and Nico are nowhere to be seen.

**Labyrinth—June 10**

They had searched the entire mountain for both Thalia and Nico with no luck. They were gone without a trace. Bianca had refused to speak with Annabeth, claiming it was all her fault. After wasting the morning, they spent the rest of the day searching for another entrance into the Labyrinth. With Rachel's help it wasn't too hard to find.

A few minutes later, while walking through a brick tunnel, they found Thalia's broken bracelet Aegis near an underpass of tree roots. The trees blocking the passageway were too thick for them to maneuver through so Annabeth was forced to keep moving.

An hour after that they had decided to set up camp in an empty chamber.

Being exhausted, Annabeth falls asleep easily. That's the good part. The bad part, she has a nightmare, and even by her standards its scares the shit out of her.

Thalia's standing on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. Nico is nowhere to be seen. It almost seems like the Underworld; Annabeth can't see the sky above—just a close, heavy darkness, as if they're in a cave.

Thalia struggles up the hill, cuts and bruises visible. There are new scars on her face, like she's been clawed by a couple of large animals. Figuring she disappeared when they were fighting Lycaon, it's not too hard to put two and two together.

"Luke!" Thalia cries. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambles over a section of broken wall, coming to the crest of the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble are scattered around, as if something had blasted a huge building to ruble.

She gasps.

There's Percy and he's in pain.

He's crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seems to be thicker around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes are tattered; his face is scratched, and drenched with sweat.

Thalia has tears in her eyes. She reaches down wanting to touch Percy's face, but at the last second she hesitates.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They left me here," Percy says, straining. "Please. It's killing me."

Annabeth can't see what's wrong with him and that scares her. He seems to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog is squeezing him to death.

Then the darkness above Percy begins to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rocks begin to fall. Thalia rushes in just as a crack appears, the whole ceiling dropping. She holds it somehow—tons of rock. She keeps it from collapsing on her and Percy just with her own strength. It seems impossible.

Percy rolls free, gasping. "Thanks," he manages.

"Help me hold it, jackass," Thalia growls.

Percy catches his breath, rising unsteadily. He wipes off the grime and sweat covering his face.

"I knew I could count on you." He begins to walk away as the trembling blackness threatens to crush Annabeth's friend.

"HELP ME!" Thalia pleads.

"Don't worry about it, Thals," Percy says. "Your help is on the way."

The ceiling of darkness begins to crumble again, pushing Thalia against the ground.

It's only a dream, but it seems too real. Annabeth knows two things: That Thalia and Nico are in terrible danger. And Percy is responsible.


	6. Chapter 5

**Labyrinth—June 12**

They come to a crossroads. Ahead, the brick tunnel they've been following for hours continues. To the right, the walls turn into ancient marble slabs. To the left, the tunnel is nothing but dirt and tree roots.

Annabeth points to the left. "That looks like the tunnel the one Lycaon might've taken."

Bianca frowns. "Yeah, but the architecture to the right—those old stones—that's more likely to lead to an ancient part of the maze, back towards Daedalus' workshop. Maybe he can help us find Nico."

"We need to go straight," Rachel says.

Annabeth and Bianca both look at her.

"That's the least likely choice," Annabeth says.

"You don't see it?" Rachel asked. "Look at the floor."

They see nothing but well-worn bricks and mud.

"There's a brightness there," Rachel insists. "Very faint. But forward is the correct way. To the left, farther down the tunnel, those tree roots are moving like feelers. I don't like that. To the right, there's a trap about twenty feet down. Holes in the walls, maybe for spikes. I don't think we should risk it."

They don't see anything like she's describing, but Zoe nods. "Forward then."

"You believe her?" Bianca asks.

"Yes," she says. "Don't thee?"

Bianca looks like she wants to argue but they've done enough of that already so she waves at Rachel to lead on. Together they keep walking down the brick corridor. It twists and turns, but there aren't any more side tunnels. They seem to be angling down, heading deeper underground.

"No traps?" Annabeth asks anxiously.

"Nothing." Rachel knits her eyebrows. "Should it be this easy?"

"No, it shouldn't," she answers truthfully. "This place looks familiar, if only I can—"

Before Annabeth can finish her sentence, there's a creaking noise in front of them, like huge doors opening.

"What was that?" Bianca asks.

"I don't know," Rachel says. "Metal hinges."

"Oh, that's very helpful. I mean, _what is it?_"

Then they hear heavy footsteps shaking the corridor—coming towards them.

"Run?" Rachel asks.

"Run," Annabeth agrees.

They turn and flee back the way they'd came, but they don't even make it twenty feet before they run straight into some old friends. Two _dracaenae_—snake women in Greek armor—leveling their javelins at their chests. Standing between them is Kelli, the empousa from Annabeth's dream.

"Well, well," Kelli says.

They all draw their knives but before they can strike, Kelli pounces on Rachel. Her hand turns into a claw as she spins Rachel around, holding her tight with talons at Rachel's neck.

"Taking your little oracle for a walk?" Kelli asks them. "They're such fragile things, mortals. So easy to break!"

Behind them, the footsteps come closer. A huge form appears out of the gloom—an eight-foot-tall Laistrygonian giant with red eyes and fangs.

The giant licks his lips when he sees them. "Can I eat them?"

"No," Kelli says. "Your master will want these. They will provide a great deal of entertainment." She smiles at them. "Now march, half-bloods. Or you all die here, starting with the mortal girl."

They march down the tunnel, flanked by _dracaena_, with Kelli and the giant in back. No one seems worried about them running forward, seeing as that's the direction they want them to go.

Up ahead Annabeth freezes, seeing a pair of bronze doors. They're about ten feet tall, emblazoned with a pair of crossed swords. From behind comes the muffled roar of a crowd.

Annabeth hesitates. The snake woman on her left jabs her with a spear, "Forward."

"Oh, yessssss," says the snake woman on the right. "You'll be very popular with our hossssst."

"Who is thy host?" Zoe asks.

She hisses, which might have been a laugh. "Oh, you'll sssssee. Annabeth will get along furiousssly with him. She'sss met him before after all."

The giant pushes past them, opening the doors. He picks up Annabeth by her shirt, saying, "You stay here."

She protests, but the monster is more than twice her size and he'd already confiscated everyone's weapons.

Kelli laughs, her claws still at Rachel's neck. "Go on, Annabeth. Entertain us. We'll wait with your friends to make sure you behave."

She looks at her friends, "I'll get you all out of this. I promise."

Rachel nods as much as she can with a demon at her throat, "That would be nice."

Kelli leaves with Rachel in her clutches while the _dracaena _prod the Hunters towards the doorway at javelin-point.

After a few minutes, the giant lets her down, growling at her to continue. Hesitantly, Annabeth walks out onto the floor of the familiar arena.

In the center of the arena, a fight is going on between a giant and a centaur. The centaur is panicked, galloping around his enemy, using a sword and shield. The giant swings a javelin the size of a telephone pole. The crowd cheering is deafening.

The first tiers of seats are twelve feet above the arena floor. Plain stone benches wrap all the way around, every seat full. There are giants, _dracaenae, _demigods, telekhines, and stranger things: bat-winged demons and creatures that seemed half human and half…anything—bird, reptile, insect, mammal.

But Annabeth knows the creepiest thing is the skulls. The arena is full of them. They ring the edge of the railing. Three-foot-high piles of them decorate the steps between the benches. They grin from pikes at the back of the stands and hang on chains from the ceiling like horrible chandeliers. Some of them look very old—nothing but bleached-white bone. Others look fresher, covered in dirt and grime, reeking the smell of rotting flesh.

In the middle of all this, proudly displayed on the side of the spectator's wall, is a green banner with the trident of Poseidon in the center. Annabeth frowns at it, knowing Percy never approved of it.

Above the banner, sitting in a seat of honor, is her old enemy.

"Luke," she says.

Annabeth's not sure if he can hear her over the roar of the crowd, but he smiles coldly. He's wearing camouflage pants, a white T-shirt, and bronze breastplate, just like she'd seen in her dream. But he still isn't wearing his sword, which Annabeth knows is strange. Next to him sits the largest giant she's ever seen, much larger than the one on the floor fighting the centaur. The giant next to Luke is at least fifteen feet tall, easy, and so wide he takes up three seats. He wears only a loincloth, like a sumo wrestler. His skin is dark red and tattooed with blue wave designs.

There's a cry from the arena floor. Annabeth jumps back as the centaur crashes to the dirt beside her.

He meets her eyes pleadingly. "Help!"

She reaches for her knife, but it's gone. The centaur struggles to get up as the giant approaches, his javelin ready.

A meaty hand grips her shoulders, "If you value your friends' lives," her Laistrygonian guard says, "you won't interfere. This isn't your fight. Wait your turn."

The centaur can't get up. One of his legs is broken. The giant put his huge foot on the horseman's chest, raising his javelin. He looks up at Luke as the crowd cheers, "DEATH! DEATH!"

Luke doesn't do anything, but the giant sitting next to him rises. He smiles down at the centaur, who's whimpering, "Please! No!"

He holds out his hand and gives a _thumbs down _sign.

Annabeth closes her eyes just as the gladiator giant thrusts his javelin. When she looks again, the centaur is gone, disintegrated to ashes. All that's left is a single hoof. The giant takes this up as a trophy, showing the crowd. They all roar their approval.

A gate opens at the opposite end of the stadium and the giant marches out in triumph.

In the stands, the red giant raises his hands for silence.

"Good entertainment!" he bellows. "But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have, Luke, son of Hermes?"

Luke's jaw tightens but he rises calmly to his feet. His eyes glitter happily.

"Lord Antaeus," Luke says, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "You have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favor of passing through your territory."

"A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growls. "I want entertainment!"

Luke bows, "I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now. I have another student of Daedalus. I believe you've met her before." He points at her. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

The crowd jeers at her, throwing stones. Most of them she dodges but one catches her on the cheek, making a good-sized cut.

Antaeus's eyes light up, "Annabeth Chase? She should fight well! Or die well!"

"If her death pleases you," Luke says, "will you let our armies cross your territory?"

"Perhaps!" Antaeus says.

Luke doesn't look too pleased. He glares down at Annabeth, as if warning her that she'd better die in a really spectacular way. But he's missing one slight detail, she can't die.

"Luke!" Annabeth yells. "Stop this. Let us go!"

Antaeus ignores their exchange, "First, Annabeth Chase, what weapons will you choose?"

The giant pushes her into the middle of the arena.

"Annabeth!" Zoe yells at her. "His mother is Gaea! Gae—"

Her dracaenae clamps a hand over her mouth. _His mother is Gaea. _The earth goddess.

"Enough time for Hunters to fight afterwards," Antaeus declares. "Weapons," he insists. "And then we will see how you die. Will you have axes? Shields? Nets? Flamethrowers?"

"Just my knife," Annabeth says.

"Actually," Luke interrupts. "I've got a better weapon for you."

Laughter erupts from the monsters as Luke throws a pen from his seat. It lands in the sand before Annabeth. She looks at it, her expression faltering as she realizes it's Percy's sword Riptide. When the blade appears in her hands, some of the voices in the crowd turn nervous. The bronze blade glows with a faint light.

From her place on the arena floor, Annabeth can here Zoe gasp.

"Round one!" Antaeus announces. The gates open, and a _dracaena _slithers out. She has a trident in one hand and a weighted net in the other—classic gladiator style. Annabeth had trained against those weapons before.

She jabs at Annabeth experimentally. She steps away. The snake woman throws her net, hoping to tangle Annabeth's sword hand, but she sidesteps easily. Annabeth slices her spear in half, stabbing Riptide through a chink in her armor. With a painful wail, she vaporizes into nothing, and the cheering of the crowd dies.

"No!" Antaeus bellows. "Too fast! You must wait for the kill. Only I give that order!"

Annabeth glances over at her friends. She has to find a way to get them free, maybe distract their guards.

"Nice job, Annabeth." Luke smiles. "See? You didn't need that knife after all."

"Round two!" Antaeus yells. "And slower this time! More entertainment! Wait for my call before killing anybody. OR ELSE!"

The gate opens again, and this time a young warrior comes out. He's younger than Annabeth, about fifteen. He has glossy black hair, and a black patch covering his left eye. He's thin and wiry so his Greek armor hangs on him loosely. He stabs his sword into the dirt, adjusted his shield straps, and pulling on his horsehair helmet.

"Who are you?" Annabeth asks.

"Ethan Nakamura," he says. "I have to kill you."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Hey!" a monster jeers from the stands. "Stop talking and fight already!"

The others take up the call.

"I have to prove myself," Ethan tells her. "Only way to join up."

And with that he charges. Their swords meet in midair and the crowd roars.

It doesn't seem right to Annabeth. She doesn't want to fight to entertain a bunch of monsters, but Ethan Nakamura isn't giving her much choice.

He presses forward. He's good but she'd never seen him at Camp Half-Blood. Someone had trained him though.

He parries her strike, almost slamming into Annabeth with his shield, but she jumps back. He slashes. Annabeth rolls to one side. They exchange thrusts and parries, getting a feel for one another's fighting style. Annabeth tries to keep on Ethan's blind side, but it doesn't help much.

He's apparently been fighting with one eye for a long time, because he's excellent at guarding his left.

"Blood!" the monsters cry.

Her opponent glances up at the stands. That's his weakness, Annabeth realizes. He needs to impress them. She doesn't.

He yells an angry battle cry and charges, but Annabeth parries his blade and backs away. Annabeth's letting him come after her.

"Boo!" Antaeus says. "Stand and fight!"

Ethan presses her, but Annabeth has no trouble defending, even without a shield. She's fought without one for a few years now.

He's dressed for defense—heavy armor and shield—which makes it tiring to play offense. Annabeth's a softer target, but she's lighter and faster.

The crowd goes nuts, yelling complaints and throwing rocks. They'd been fighting for almost five minutes with no blood.

Finally Ethan makes his mistake. He tries to jab at Annabeth's stomach. She locks his sword hilt with hers, twisting. His sword drops into the dirt.

Before Ethan can recover, Annabeth slams the butt of her sword into his helmet, pushing him down. His heavy armor helps Annabeth more than him. He falls on his back, dazed and tired. She put the tip of her sword on his chest.

"Get it over with," Ethan groans.

Annabeth looks up at Antaeus. His red face is stony with displeasure, but he holds up his hand, giving Ethan a _thumbs down._

"Forget it," Annabeth says, sheathing Riptide.

"Don't be a fool," Ethan growls. "They'll just kill us both."

Annabeth offers him her hand. Reluctantly, he takes it, allowing Annabeth to help him up.

"No one dishonors the games!" Antaeus bellows. "Your heads shall both be tributes to Poseidon!"

She looks at Ethan, "When you see your chance, run." Annabeth turns back to Antaeus. "Why don't you fight me yourself? If you have your father's favor, come down here and prove it!"

The monsters grumble in the stands. Antaeus looks around, realizing he had no choice. Annabeth smirks, both of them knowing he can't say no without looking like a coward.

"I am the greatest wrestler in the world, girl," he warns. "I have been wrestling since the first _pankration_!"

"He means fighting to the death," Ethan says, not that Annabeth asked for his explanation. "No rules. No holds barred. It used to be an Olympic sport."

"Thanks for the tip," she says honestly.

"Don't mention it."

Rachel's watching her with wide eyes. Zoe shakes her head emphatically, the giant's hand still clamped over her mouth.

Annabeth points Percy's sword at Antaeus, "Winner takes all! I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx."

Antaeus laughs, "This shouldn't take long. I swear to your terms!"

He leaps off the railing, into the arena.

"Good luck," Ethan tells her. "You'll need it." Then he backs up quickly.

Antaeus cracks his knuckles. He grins, "Weapons?"

"I'll stick with this sword. You?"

He holds up his huge hands, wiggling his fingers, "I do not need anything else! Master Luke, you will referee this one."

Luke smiles down at her, "With pleasure."

Antaeus lunges. Annabeth rolls under his legs, stabbing him in the back of the thigh.

"Argggh!" he yells, but where blood is supposed to come out, is a spout of sand. It spills into the dirt floor, and the dirt collects around his leg, almost like a cast. When the dirt falls away, the wound was gone.

He charges again. Fortunately Annabeth has some experience fighting giants. She dodges sideways this time, stabbing him under the arm. Riptide's blade is buried to the hilt in his ribs. The good news. The bad news, it's wrenched out of her hand when the giant turns. She's thrown across the arena, weaponless.

Antaeus bellows in pain. Annabeth waits for him to disintegrate. But Antaeus gropes for the hilt, pulling out the sword, tossing it behind him. More sand pours from the wound, but again the earth rises up to cover him. Dirt coats his body all the way to his shoulders. As soon as it spills away, Antaeus is fine.

"Now you see why I never lose, demigod!" Antaeus gloats. "Come here and let me crush you. I'll make it quick!"

Antaeus stands between Annabeth and Percy's sword. Desperately, she glances to either side, catching Zoe's eye.

_His mother is Gaea._

Antaeus's father maybe Poseidon, but it is Gaea keeping him alive. Annabeth couldn't hurt him as long as he's touching the ground.

She tries to skirt around him, but Antaeus anticipates her move. He blocks her path, chuckling. He's just toying with her now, he has her cornered.

Annabeth looks up at the chains hanging from the ceiling, dangling the skulls of his enemies on hooks. Annabeth smiles, a brilliant idea coming to mind.

She feints to the other side, Antaeus blocking her. The crowd jeers and screams for giant to finish her off, but he's having too much fun. And, there's the fact Annabeth can't die.

"Puny girl," he snarls, "I will crush you!"

Annabeth feels Percy's pen return to her pocket, but Antaeus doesn't have to know that.

He'd have to think Riptide is still in the dirt behind him. He'll think her goal is to get Percy's sword. It isn't much of an advantage, but it's all she has.

Annabeth charges straight ahead, crouching low. Antaeus stoops, ready to catch her when Annabeth jumps, kicking off his forearm, and scrambling up his shoulder, landing on his head. Antaeus straightens up indignantly, bellowing at the top of his lungs. Annabeth pushes off, using the giant's force to catapult her toward the ceiling. She catches the top of a chain, the skulls and hooks jangling beneath her. Annabeth wraps her legs around the chain, drawing Riptide and sawing off the chain beside her.

"Come down here, coward!" Antaeus roar, trying to grab her. Fortunately for Annabeth she's just out of reach. Hanging on for dear life with one arm, she flicks him off with her left hand.

He howls, making another grab for Annabeth. He catches a chain, trying to pull himself up. While he struggles, Annabeth lowers her sawed-off chain, hook first. It takes her two tries, but she finally manages to snag Antaeus's loincloth, praying to Athena it doesn't rip.

Annabeth quickly slips the free chain through the fastening link on her own chain, pulling it taut, securing as best as she can.

Antaeus tries to slip back to the ground, but he stays suspended by his loincloth. He holds on to the other chains with both hands to avoid getting flipped upside down. Annabeth prays the loincloth and the chain will hold for a few more seconds. While Antaeus curses and flails, she scrambles around the chains, swinging and cutting, making loops with hooks and metal links. I don't know how I did it.

Within a couple of minutes the giant is suspended above the ground, hopelessly snarled within chains and hooks. Annabeth drops to the floor, panting and sweating, her hands raw from climbing.

"Get me down!" Antaeus demands.

"Free him!" Luke orders. "He is our host!"

Annabeth uncaps Riptide, giving her old friend a shit-eating grin, "I'll free him."

She stabs the giant in the stomach. He bellows as sand pours out, but he's too far up to touch the earth. The dirt doesn't rise to help him.

Antaeus dissolves, pouring out bit by bit, until there's nothing left but empty swinging chains, a really big loincloth on a hook, and a bunch of grinning skulls dancing above Annabeth like they finally have something to smile about.

"Chase!" Luke yells. "I should have killed you long ago!"

"You tried," she reminds him. "Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I'm the winner."

"Antaeus is dead," Luke says. "His oath dies with him. But since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll have you killed quickly."

She doesn't have time to correct him. Luke seems to forget the little detail, she can't _fucking _die! He points at Rachel. "Spare the oracle. She could prove useful to us."

Every monster in the audience draws a weapon or extends its claws. Annabeth knows they're trapped and hopelessly outnumbered.

Luke laughs, "Any last words?"

Suddenly, from behind her comes a surprised yelp. The Laistrygonian giant who'd been guarding Annabeth flies past her, smashing into the wall.

Kelli the _empousa _screams as a five-hundred-pound black mastiff picks her up like a chew toy. She's tossed through the air, straight into Luke's lap.

Mrs. O'Leary snarls, and the two _dracaenae _guarding Zoe, Bianca and Rachel back away. For a moment the monsters in the audience are caught completely by surprise.

"Go," she hears a familiar voice. Daedalus appears at her side, brandishing a long Celestial Bronze sword. "Heel, Mrs. O'Leary!"

"The far exit!" Annabeth shouts. "That's the right way!"

"You go with them," Daedalus orders. "Mrs. O' Leary and I will keep the monsters busy."

Hesitantly, Annabeth nods, running after her friends.

Ethan Nakamura takes his cue. Together they race across the arena and out the far exit. As they run, she hears the disorganized sounds of an entire army jumping out of their seats to attack.

Annabeth prays to not only Athena, but rather any god that'll listen, hoping Daedalus will be okay.


	7. Chapter 6

**Labyrinth—June 14**

They run for hours, distancing themselves from Antaeus's Arena. Finally they stop in a corridor to catch their breath.

Zoe glances at Annabeth, "The sword. Give it to me."

Annabeth hands it over without complaint. Zoe uncaps the pen, watching at it springs into a three foot long Celestial Bronze blade.

"Anaklusmos," she whispers sadly. Zoe caps the sword again, giving it back to Annabeth.

"How do you know about Riptide?"

She scoffs, "Know about it? I made the sword." Zoe sighs, offering no further explanation. "Come, we must continue on."

They walk for several more hours, stopping again in a room full of waterfalls. The floor is one big pit, ringed by a slippery stone walkway. Around them, on all four walls, water tumbles from huge pipes, spilling down into the pit.

"This pit goes straight to Tartarus," Bianca murmurs, shining her flashlight. Unsurprisingly, she can't see the bottom of the endless chasm.

"So," Annabeth murmurs, "Are we gonna camp out here or keep moving?"

Zoe looks at her, "Thou suggest we sleep at the edge of chasm dropping straight into oblivion?"

She shrugs, "I've slept in worse places before."

"We keep moving," Bianca says with finality. "The last thing we need is to run into more monsters. Who knows what'll crawl out of there."

They make it fifty feet on the stone walkway when the mist of a waterfall shimmers. Annabeth grabs her knife but soon realizes it's nothing but an Iris Message.

"I found you," she hears an exasperated voice say as the image settles.

"Terra?" Annabeth asks, seeing the daughter of Nemesis behind the wheel of a small car.

"No shit Sherlock," she mumbles sarcastically, taking a sharp left. The message shudders, the sound of wind and rain pounding on the windshield. Terra comes back into focus. "Look I don't have much time. I've been trying to call Nico or Thalia but I can't get a hold of them, so you'll have to do. I'm in trouble, I need your help."

"Where are you?" Annabeth demands.

Terra closes her eyes for a moment, as if trying to remember, "North Carolina I think. I'm about to cross the border to Tennessee. Look, just… just meet me at the Parthenon in Nashville, Centennial Park, okay?"

A large figure slams into the trunk, jerking Terra forward. A shadow passes over her face. "Annabeth? Yeah, I'mma have to call you back."

She makes a sudden U-turn, no doubt leaving skid marks on the road she's driving on. Terra glances at the message one last time, "Centennial Park. 11am. Don't forget."

**Nashville, Tennessee—June 15**

"Where is she?" Rachel demands. "The nerve of telling _us_ not to be late. It's almost noon!"

"We didn't waste six dollars for nothing," Bianca adds, scowling.

Annabeth pinches the bridge of her nose, "Will the both of you cut it out? You're behaving like children."

They're standing in the middle of crowded room, the painted statue of Athena towering over them. They attempt to stay away from the gathering of mortals, though the small statue of the goddess Nike seems to regard them with a nasty scowl, almost as if it can sense they don't belong.

"Do not touch anything," Zoe warns.

Rachel doesn't seem to listen, poking one of the casts from the original statues of the Acropolis in Greece. She wrinkles her nose in disgust, "Greeks don't like wearing clothes, do they?"

Bianca smacks her arm. Annabeth rolls her eyes. Zoe shakes her head.

The oracle pouts, "I was just curious, jeeze."

"Annabeth!" The daughter of Athena breathes a sigh of relief as she hears Terra's voice, catching sight of her in the distance, weaving her way through the crowd. Somewhere behind Terra, Annabeth glances at a marble column. Beside it is face that makes her freeze.

It's a woman with eyes like silver. Her features are thin and cat-like. The woman glances at Terra for a moment, releasing a pent up snarl. Her thick canines regard Annabeth with a cold sheen.

"You made it here, thank the gods," Terra murmurs, suddenly beside Annabeth.

She looks way, "Uh, yeah. Well, it looked like an emergency, we came as fast as we could."

"It is," Terra glances in the same direction Annabeth was staring in moments ago, only this time the woman is gone. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time."

She leads them to a secluded corner just behind the Athena's statue. Terra clears her throat, getting right down to business. "Well while you and everyone else spent the last two years partying it up, I was actually doing something useful."

Annabeth glares at her but doesn't protest. "I spent the last year trying to track down Luke. Last month I snuck aboard this cruise ship of his, _The Princess Andromeda _which was headed to San Francisco_._ I saw Percy there, gagged and beaten. I wasn't sure if he saw me or not. Luke he started telling him these… plans."

Terra glances at Zoe warily, "They're planning to use Percy to free Atlas from Mount Tamalpais."

"No. You lie." Zoe snaps, her face turning into one of anger, "The fool he cannot—"

Their conversation is cut off by the sounds of people screaming. The crowd pushes and shoves each other out of the way towards the nearest exit. A roar echoes along the Parthenon walls, claws scraping the marble floors like knives.

Terra pales, "She followed me."

Annabeth's head snaps towards the daughter of Nemesis, "Who followed you?"

Bianca and Zoe grab their weapons. Rachel grimaces but her face is soon a mask of horror as she glances up at the silhouette perched on top of Athena's statue. "Umm… Annabeth?"

The last thing she wants to see is a giant lion standing on the figure of her mother. The big cat growls at them, lunging. Again, the last thing Annabeth wants to see: a lion jumping off a statue, aiming to land right on top of her.

She rolls out of the way as the lion lands, its weight cracking the Parthenon's floors. Annabeth grabs Terra's shoulder, "What the fuck did you do?"

"_I _didn't do anything," Terra says defensively. "Luke sent her to kill me."

"Who is _she_?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's Atalanta."

Annabeth doesn't get a chance to respond as the lion—_Atalanta—_pounces on Terra's back. The only thing that saves her from being clawed to shreds is her bulky backpack. Terra's bag rips open, a burlap sack falling to the floor. Terra grabs the sack, kicking Atalanta in the nose.

Atalanta. The _real_ Atalanta. The greatest female hero of Greek mythology. The only woman to participate in the Calydonian boar hunt and who'd shot the first arrow to pierce the monster. The only female Argonaut who went on Jason's voyage to find the Golden Fleece. The one claimed to have defeated the mighty father of Achilles, Peleus, in a wrestling match and to have killed two centaurs single handedly. If you were a female demigod or Hunter, Atalanta would be your hero. Your inspiration. It's the reason Annabeth had named her daughter Atalanta in the first place. It was Atalanta who proved in ancient times, the female species was not useless, that they in fact were just as brave and just as strong as men.

Now, here's Annabeth's hero trying to kill them.

Terra digs into the burlap sack, pulling out what looks like a diamond the size of a fist, throwing it at Atalanta. The lioness's eyes widen as she immediately turns her gaze away from Terra, following the rolling jewel on the cracked floor.

"Come on, she'll be distracted for twenty minutes at the most," Terra tells them, grabbing Annabeth's arm.

**Labyrinth—June 15**

Thanks to Rachel, they manage to find a Labyrinth entrance in the nick of time. Atalanta doesn't follow them. Rachel leads them in silence for what seems like an hour when she suddenly stops. She turns suddenly, crossing her arms as she glares at Terra.

"We're not going any further until you tell us what the fuck is going on?"

They all stare at Rachel in bewilderment.

"What?" she snaps. "I'm just voicing everyone's thoughts."

An emotion flashes in Terra's eyes but it's gone in a quick second, "I told you, Luke sent Atalanta to kill me."

Rachel nods, "What did you throw at her then?"

Terra sighs, pulling out the object from her sack. Even in the dimly lit halls of the Labyrinth, the diamond glows brilliantly.

Bianca studies it closely, "Is that… an apple?"

She nods, "The apples of Melanion."

"Actually," Zoe points out, "It's an apple from the Garden of the Hesperides."

"But aren't those gold?" Bianca asks.

"They crystalize when they're taken from the garden."

Rachel raises an eyebrow, "M'kay you officially lost me."

"You're not very knowledgeable for an oracle," Terra points out. "But if I must continue, Atalanta was an Arcadian princess. Her father left her for dead in the woods and was suckled by a she bear sent by Artemis. That was, until, the Hunters of Artemis found her and raised her."

They all turn to look at Zoe.

Zoe shakes her head, "I did not get the chance to meet Atalanta. She was Artemis's lieutenant before me. When I joined the hunt, Atalanta was still a part of it but unlike we who stayed close to Artemis, Atlanta would wander off for months or years. I would only catch glimpses of her."

Terra continues, "After the Calydonian boar hunt, Atalanta's father reclaimed her. He demanded she be married to continue the king's lineage. Since Atalanta was a hunter and swore on oath of virginity, she came up with this crazy plan to please her father. If a suitor could beat her in a footrace, he would be her husband. Those who lost would be killed.

"And all of them were killed. Until Melanion came along. Before the race he prayed to Aphrodite to help him. In return she gave him three apples from the Garden of the Hesperides to divert Atalanta every time she would run past him. Eventually he won."

Annabeth nods, "So you stole these?"

"It was the only way to get her off my back," Terra protests. "I threw one at her after our Iris message cut off. The second one I threw at her in the Parthenon. This is the last one I have."

"So wait," Rachel says. "If this Atalanta chick was a mortal, how does she do that turning into a lion thing?"

"Lesser known part of the myth," Annabeth mumbles. "Melanion forgot to give Aphrodite a proper offering after they were married. When they were passing through a temple of Zeus, Aphrodite struck them with lust. They had sex on sacred grounds. Offended, Zeus turned them into lions. The belief back then was that lions only mated with leopards; Atalanta and Melanion couldn't be together _like that_ ever again."

Rachel raises an eyebrow, "That's kinda messed up."

No one argues, agreeing in silence.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time," Terra tells them. "Luke sent Atalanta after me for a reason. If no one gets there in time to stop him from freeing Atlas, we're pretty much fucked. And if he does have Thalia and Nico, odds are we'll find them there too."


	8. Chapter 7

**Dear Readers,**

**Major Lack of reviews. AND IM AT CHAPTER 7! :O**

**Don't worry, I'm not going to freak out like other authors or refuse chapters update until I get reviews. That's just not my style. Nor will I abandon the stories either. They took alot of work, trust me, so I'm not about to give up on them. I'm sticking with this fanfiction series till the very end of the 4th Chosen Ones.**

**I'm not saying you have to review, it just lets me know if you like what I'm writing or not. Just one review tends to put a smile on my face every day, as in, "Wow, I'm glad I made that person laugh."**

**Again, not saying you have to review, I don't really expect anyone to honestly. But I'm just letting you know, I'd make me happy if you did. But really, I'm just happy your reading in the first place. Just checking those traffic stats makes me satisfied. But enough delay, let's contine shall we?**

**Love,**

**Bubbles (Yes, I'm going by that nickname now :DDD)**

* * *

><p><strong>San Francisco, CA—June 15<strong>

By the time they get to the Labyrinth entrance in San Francisco, the sun is going down. Annabeth figures they have less than an hour to get to Mount Tam.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Bianca demands.

Zoe glares at her. "I cannot control traffic."

"You both sound like my mother," Rachel murmurs.

"Shut up!" they say in unison.

Zoe weaves in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. They're driving in an Volkswagen Rachel's managed to rent.

The roads are insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. Zoe doesn't slow down at all. Ahead of them looms Mount Tamalpais. In terms of mountains, it's a small one, but it looks plenty huge as they drive towards it.

"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" Rachel asks.

"Yes," Zoe says tightly.

"Why do they call it that?"

She's silent for almost a mile before answering, "After the war between the Titans and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."

"Atlas," Bianca says.

Clouds seem to swirl around its peak, as though the mountain is drawing them in, spinning them like a top.

"What's going on up there? A storm?"

Zoe doesn't answer. Annabeth gets the feeling Zoe knows exactly what the clouds mean, and she doesn't like it.

Annabeth glances down at the ocean as they pass a scenic curve. What she sees has her jumping out of her seat.

"Look!" But they turn a corner and the ocean disappears behind the hills.

"What?" Terra asks.

"A big white ship," Annabeth says. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."

Her eyes widen, "Luke's ship?"

Annabeth wants to say she isn't sure. It can be a coincidence, but she knows better. The _Princess Andromeda_, Luke's demon cruise ship, is docked on that beach. That's why he'd sent his ship all the way down to the Panama Canal. It's the only way to sail it from the East Coast to California.

"We will have company, then," Zoe says grimly. "Kronos's army."

Annabeth's about to answer, when Rachel stiffens. "Stop the car. NOW!" she shouts.

Zoe must've sensed something is wrong, because she slams on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spins twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.

"Out!" Terra opens the door and pushes Annabeth out hard. They both roll onto the pavement. The next second lightning flashes, and their rental Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade.

She probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appears over Annabeth's head after Terra activates it. When Annabeth opens her eyes, they're surrounded by the wreckage. Part of the VW's fender is impaled in the street. The smoking hood is spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal are strewn across the road.

Annabeth swallows the taste of smoke, looking at Terra. "You saved my life."

"Well I wouldn't just let a friend die," Terra retorts. "And a thank you would be nice you know."

"Thanks Terra," Annabeth mumbles.

"Any idea what that was," she asks.

"I don't know." Annabeth admits, "Zoe said Kronos's name. Maybe he— Wait, where's Zoe? Zoe! Bianca! Rachel!"

They both get up, running around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing in either direction down the road. She looks down the cliff, no sign of them.

"Zoe!" Terra shouts.

She's standing right beside them, pulling them by the arm, "Silence, fool! Do you want to wake Ladon?" She drags them to a boulder where Bianca and Rachel are hiding.

"You mean we're here?" Terra asks, fingering her sack with the single apple.

"Very close," she says. "Follow me. And, when we do reach the garden, do not do anything stupid. My sisters are not to be trifled with."

_Sisters?_ Rachel mouths to Bianca. The daughter of Hades shrugs.

Sheets of fog drifts across the road. Zoe steps into one of them, and when the fog passes, she's no longer there. Annabeth and Terra look at each other.

"Concentrate on Zoe," Bianca advises. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog and keep that in mind."

They step into the fog, into the Mist.

When the fog clears, they're still on the side of the mountain, but the road is dirt. The grass is thicker. The sunset makes a blood red slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seems closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There's only one path to the top, directly in front of them. It leads through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight.

If it isn't for the enormous  
>dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place Annabeth has ever seen. The grass shimmers with silvery evening light, and the flowers are such brilliant colors they almost glow in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble lead around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, like solid gold. She can't describe why they're so appealing, but as soon as she smells their fragrance, she knows that one bite will be the most delicious thing she's ever tasted. And yet, as much as Annabeth hates to admit this, she prefers these fresh apples over the one in Terra's back pack.<p>

"The apples of immortality," Bianca states. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."

At that moment the shadows in front of them begin to move. There's a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. Annabeth reaches for her knife, but Zoe stops her hand.

Four figures shimmer into existence, four young women who looking very much like Zoe. They all wear white Greek chitons. Their skin like caramel. Silky black hair tumbles loose around their shoulders. It's strange, but Annabeth has never realized how truly beautiful Zoe is until she sees her siblings, to which she assumes they are the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoe—gorgeous, and probably very dangerous.

"Sisters," Zoe says.

"We do not see any sister," one of the girls says coldly. "We see two half-bloods, two Hunters and an oracle. All of whom shall soon die."

"No one is going to die," Annabeth says venomously.

The girls study her. Their eyes are like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.

"Annabeth Chase," one of them says.

"Yes," muses another. "I do not see why she is a threat."

"Who said I was a threat?"

The first Hesperid glances behind, towards the top of the mountain.

"They fear thee, unhappy you are not dead yet." She points at Terra.

"I can't die," Annabeth tells them.

The corners of her lip curl up slightly into a malicious smile, "We shall see."

She sighs, "Look, can you just let me and my friends pass we—"

"There are no friends here, daughter of Athena," the girl says. "Only enemies. Go back."

"Not without Thalia," Annabeth says.

"And Nico," Bianca interjects. "We must approach the mountain."

"You know he will kill thee," the girl says, looking at Zoe. "You are no match for him."

"Let us pass," Zoe says coldly.

The girl shakes her head, "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake."

"He will not hurt me," she says confidently.

"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"

Zoe face hardens. "Ladon! Wake!" she shouts.

The dragon stirs, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelp and scatter. The lead girl looks at Zoe in disbelief, "Are you mad?"

"You never had any courage, sister," Zoe says bitterly. "That is thy problem."

The dragon Ladon is writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Zoe takes a step forward, her arms raised.

"Zoe, don't," Bianca says. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you."

"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoe says. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee. Give me the apple."

"You're not exactly reassuring," Terra grumbles, handing Zoe the backpack.

"It is the only way," she sighs. "Even the three of us together cannot fight him."

Rachel and Bianca take the left. Annabeth and Terra the right. Zoe walks straight towards the monster.

"It's me, my little dragon," Zoe says lightly. "Zoe has come back."

Ladon shifts forward, then back. Some of the mouths close. Some continue to hiss. Dragon confusion. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmer, turning into shadows.

The voice of the eldest whispers, "Fool."

"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoe continues, speaking in a soothing voice as she steps towards the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"

The dragon's eyes glint.

She throws the apple. It sparkles under the sunset like a blood diamond, immediately drawing in the dragon's attention.

The others are about halfway around the garden. Ahead, they can see a single rocky trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirls above it, spinning on the summit as if it's the axis for the whole world.

They almost make it out of the meadow when something goes wrong. Annabeth feels the dragon's mood shifting, maybe Zoe got too close. Whatever the reason, he lunges at her.

Two thousand years of training keeps her alive. She dodges one set of slashing fangs, tumbling under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she runs in their direction, gagging from the monster's horrible breath.

Bianca draws a knife to help.

"No!" Zoe pants. "Run!"

She throws the last apple, again drawing away Ladon's attention. Zoe sprints past them up the mountain, they all follow quickly.

The dragon doesn't try to pursue. He hisses and stomps the ground, but again he curls around the tree, staring at the interesting apples.

They run up the mountain as the Hesperides resume their song in the shadows behind. The music isn't beautiful now—more like the sound track for a funeral.

At the top of mountain are ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that look as though they've been half melted.

"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Annabeth whispers in awe.

"Yes," Zoe says. "It was not here before. This is bad."

"Mount Othrys?" Rachel says.

"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoe said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was blasted to pieces in the first war."

"But... how is it here?"

Annabeth looks around cautiously as they picked their way through the rubble, past blocks of marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on _this _mountain, is not good."

"Why?" Bianca asks.

"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoe says. "Where he holds—" She freezes. Her voice is ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."

They reach the summit. A few yards ahead of them, gray clouds swirl in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost seems to touch the mountaintop. But instead it rests on the shoulders of Thalia and Nico. This is what Annabeth had seen in her dream. Thalia hadn't been forced to hold a cavern roof. She's been forced to carry the roof of the world.

"Nico!" Bianca rushes forward, but Nico says, "Stop! It's a trap. You need to leave, _now_."

His voice is strained. Both of them are drenched in sweat, their marks glowing insanely. Hecate's magic is trying to heal them, keep up their strength but the weight of the sky is clearly too much for them

A booming voice speaks from behind them: "Ah, how touching."

They turn, only to see standing there in full Greek battle armor a tall muscular man. Looking at him, Annabeth feels like she's staring at a living statue. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could quite frankly snap her in half. But Annabeth doesn't take a tremendous amount of time studying. Standing there, at his side, is half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos and none other than Percy.

Behind Annabeth, the sound of a sword being drawn startles the shit out of her. Annabeth looks quickly behind her only to see Terra giving her a devilish smirk. She looks at the long blade in her hands, pointing the tip of it at Annabeth's throat.

She gapes at Terra, "You, you're…"

Terra laughs, "It's amazing how easily fooled you are. Don't you agree Percy?"

He stares at them sadly, saying nothing.

The man chuckles, "So much for old friends. And you, Zoe. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."

"Wait a second," Rachel says. "You're Atlas?"

He glances at her, "So, even the stupidest of mortals can finally figure something out. Yes, I am Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. Congratulations. I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl."

"You're not going to hurt Zoe." Bianca says. "I won't let you."

The General sneers, "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter."

Annabeth frowns. "A family matter?"

"Yes," Zoe says bleakly. "Atlas is my father."

The horrible thing is: Annabeth can see the family resemblance. She feels stupid, for not putting the pieces together before.

Atlas has the same regal expression as Zoe, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoe gets when she's angry, even though on him it looks a thousand times more evil. He had all the things Annabeth had originally disliked about Zoe.

"Let Thalia and Nico go," Zoe demands.

Atlas walks closer to the chained demigods, "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for them then? Be my guest."

"Z-zoe," Thalia warns angrily.

"I don't understand," Rachel says. "Why can't they just let go of the sky?"

Atlas laughs, "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiles. "Unless someone else takes it from you."

He approaches them, his eye moving back and forth from Percy and Annabeth. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."

"Fight us," Annabeth says coldly. "And let's see."

"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Terra and Percy crush you instead."

Percy cringes at this.

Terra smiles, "Let's not forget the army on its way here." She points towards the ocean. Everyone's expressions seem to falter, as an army marches up the side of the mountain from where the _Princess Andromeda_ is docked. Dracaenae and Laistrygonian, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things they can't even name. In a few minutes, they'll be here.

Annabeth keeps her eyes fixed on Atlas, "So you're another coward, then?"

Atlas's eyes glow with hatred. There's no time. Annabeth meets Rachel's eyes, giving her a clear warning. _Take cover._ The oracle nods dutifully.

She looks at Bianca and Zoe, deciding it won't be that bad, dying beside them.

"Now," Annabeth says.

Together, they charge.

Annabeth unleashes Thalia's shield. The dracanae bodyguards flee in a panic, dropping the golden sarcophagus and leaving Kronos alone. Annabeth charges forward, locking on her target. She seems takes Percy by surprise; he barely catches Annabeth's blade, only an inch away from slashing the right side of his face. Despite his weak state, he snarls like a wild animal and counterattacks. Percy deflects, blocking each of Annabeth's fierce strikes. Their blades lock together.

She can't help the angry tears that stream down her face as she yells at him, "Why?"

Percy's growling, his sword causing sparks as it scrapes against Thalia's shield, "You wouldn't understand. You'll never understand."

She shakes her head violently, cutting a long gash on his cheek, "You know what'll happen if Olympus falls. The Percy _I know _would have realized this. Think about our daughter Percy, what you think she'll say by you joining them?"

Percy knocks the shield out of her hands, his face is one of pure rage, "You don't know _ANYTHING!_"

Bianca draws her knives, launching herself towards Terra. The daughter of Nemesis anticipates the challenge. Zoe, on the other hand, does one of the stupidest things she's done in a long time. She charges her father.

Atlas laughs as she approaches. A huge javelin appears in his hands, "Go on, then!"

Zoe slashes at him but Atlas knocks her aside with the shaft of his javelin. She flies through the air, slamming into a black wall.

"Fool!" Atlas screams gleefully. "Did you think, simply because you have the moon goddess's protection, that you could stand up to _me_?"

Percy's blade slams into the hilt of Riptide. It skitters across the marble floor. "Maybe, you don't know me as well as you thought you did." Percy kicks her to the ground, pressing his sword to her neck. He looks at this new blade in with a dull disinterest.

Percy's anger fades, "I don't wanna hurt you Annabeth," He whispers softly, almost pained, but soon his voice turns into a snarl, "But you need to stay out of my way."

He stabs his sword into the cracked marble floor, an inch away from her face. Percy promptly disappears in the mist, leaving Annabeth confused and frustrated.

Atlas takes his time making his way towards his daughter. Laughing, he raises his javelin to impale her.

"Die, little traitor," he sneers.

"No!" a woman yells from the summit as a volley of silver arrows sprouts from the armpit chink in Atlas's armor.

"ARGH!" Atlas bellows, turning towards the two figures who take aim at him again.

_Cut the chains,_ Annabeth hears someone whisper inside her head, snapping her out of whatever daze she's in. Annabeth grabs Riptide, staring at the newcomers. Both of them are familiar—Atalanta in human form aims her arrows for the chinks in the Titan's armor. The other one who she recognizes as Artemis, only older, is a blur of silver wielding two long hunting knives the length of her arm.

Zoe rolls out of the way, snatching her discarded bow and arrows to assist Atalanta. Annabeth on the other hand, runs straight towards Thalia and Nico. She draws Percy's sword, slashing through the Celestial Bronze shackles.

Artemis slashes wildly at Atlas, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace. She seems to change form as she maneuvers: a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon.

Zoe and Atalanta continue to shoot arrow after arrow at the Titan. He roars in pain each time one finds its mark, but they affect him like bee stings. They only seem to make him angrier, and Atlas continues to fight.

Terra and Bianca are relentless, fighting sword on knives. But even then Bianca's slightly stronger, edging Terra towards the cliff face.

Atlas advances, pressing Artemis. She's fast, no doubt, but his strength is unstoppable. His javelin slams into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opens in the rocks. Atlas leaps over it, pursuing her. She leads him towards Thalia and Nico.

_Be ready! _She speaks in their minds. They grit their teeth in anticipation.

"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughs. "But you are no match for me."

He feints with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodges. But Annabeth sees the trick coming. Atlas's javelin sweeps around, knocking Artemis's legs off the ground. She falls, and Atlas brings up his javelin tip for the kill.

"No!" Atalanta screams. She breaks into a run, changing to a lioness in midair as she leaps between her goddess and Atlas. Her razor sharp claws dig into his skin, shredding his face like paper mache. Atlas bellowed in rage as ichor drips down from his chin. He sweeps her aside with the back of his hand, sending Atalanta flying into the black rocks.

"Atalanta!" Annabeth and Zoe cry, running to where ever the heroine had fallen.

Atlas turns on Artemis with a look of triumph on his face. Artemis doesn't get up.

"The first blood in a new war," he gloats, stabbing downwards.

As quick as lightning, Artemis grabs his javelin shaft. It hits the earth right next to her and she pulls backward, using the weapon as a lever. She Sparta kicks the Titan Lord's abdomen, sending him flying over her.

"Now," she shouts at Thalia and Nico. Their grip on the sky loosens as Atlas slams into them. They don't try to hold on; allowing themselves to be pushed out of the way and rolling as if they're lives depended on it.

The weight of the sky drops onto Atlas's back. It almost smashes him flat until he manages to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it's already too late.

"_Noooooo_!" He bellows so hard it shakes the mountain. "_Not again_!"

Thalia chokes out a relieved laugh, seeing Atlas trapped under his old burden again. Nico tries to stand but falls back again, dazed from pain as if his body's on fire.

Bianca backs Terra to the edge of a cliff, fighting next to the golden coffin. Terra glances behind Bianca, watching with wide eyes as Atlas groans from holding the sky. She hisses, slashing her sword in a wide arc to distance herself from the Hunter of Artemis.

Terra smirks, giving Bianca a mock solute before jumping over the edge of the cliff. Bianca rushes forward but Terra's gone, disappeared. Below her, the army from the _Princess Andromeda_ continues their march.

One of the giants looks up at her growling, "Kill them!"

Bianca pulls back immediately, a wave of javelins sailed over her head. She helps Nico and Thalia to their feet, running towards the rocks. They ignore the curses and threats of Atlas as they pass.

"Artemis!" Bianca yells.

"You lied to me," Artemis cries, refusing to glance at anything but Atalanta's face.

She lies in the goddess's arm, still breathing and her eyes open. But Nico and Bianca can tell something's wrong. Her life force is fading rapidly.

"Because you would worry," Atalanta protests weakly.

"I… do not understand," Zoe says in worry.

"The wound is poisoned," Artemis says simply, her body frame withering.

"Atlas poisoned her?" Rachel asks, confused.

"No," the goddess says. "Not Atlas."

She shows them the wound in Atalanta's side.

"Ladon," Zoe whispers.

"You're dragon is quite a challenge," Atalanta manages a smile, bearing no hostility. For a moment the Hunters can't believe they had fallen for Terra's act. Atalanta is and always will be a hero. No matter what the gods had done to her before, she is still loyal. Anyone can tell by the look in her eyes as she gazes at her goddess.

Nico can barely look at the wound without being sick. He finds it impossible she'd have the nerve to charge Atlas with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.

"The stars," Atalanta murmurs curiously. "I cannot see them my Lady."'

"Nectar and ambrosia," Thalia says. "Will it work?"

"I am no demigod, daughter of Zeus," Atalanta coughs. "I am simply mortal. One who's lived far too long. It's time for me to move on."

No one moves, grief hanging in air. They hear the army of Kronos approaching, just below the rise. Artemis is too shock to even stir.

"Can't you heal her with magic?" Thalia asks her harshly. "You're a goddess."

Artemis looks troubled, "Life is a fragile thing, Thalia. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."

She tries to set her hand on Atalanta's side, but she grips the goddess's wrist. Annabeth feels queasy at the sight of her broken, bloody nails. Atalanta looks into the Artemis's eyes, an understanding passes between them.

"I have served thee well, my Lady?" Atalanta whispers, her face morphing into one of pure innocence. It's as if Artemis is looking into the eyes of an infant again, the same one that had been found in the forests several thousand years ago.

"With great honor," Artemis says softly. "The finest of my attendants. And the best messenger anyone could ever ask for."

Atalanta's smiles, "Rest. At last."

"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."

"You know that won't be enough. You know it's not the poison killing me," Atalanta croaks bitterly.

A shudder runs through her body.

"Annabeth," Atalanta says urgently. "I heard of you daughter. You will tell her my story, yes? When you do… tell her… I give her my blessing. I pray to the gods she be a greater hero than I."

"Atalanta—" Annabeth says as Atalanta's eyes seem to glaze over.

"Melanion," she whispers, a smile grazing her face. "I see Melanion, my lady."

A tear trickles down Artemis's cheek, "Go to him, my brave one. He will take you through the last of your journey."

"As you wish…" Atalanta's voice trails off, the smile never leaving her face. She closes her eyes, releasing one last giggle. Atalanta doesn't move again.

Thalia and Nico lower their heads. Artemis gulps down a sob, and Zoe put her hand on the goddess's shoulders. They watch on as Artemis cups her hand above Atalanta's mouth, speaking a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhales from the hero's lips. Atalanta's body shimmers and disappears.

Monsters charge down filling the cavern.

"Go!" Artemis demands. "Nico, take Thalia. Bianca, take the others."

A nervous look crosses Bianca's face, "I am not good in the aspect of shadow traveling, my lady."

"Well now is the time to perfect the technique, don't you think?" There's no humor in the goddess's voice. "I will stall the monsters. Get out of here."


	9. Chapter 8

**Manhattan, NY—June 16**

Annabeth wakes up on a bench. With Rachel sprawled on top of her.

_What kind of FML moment is this?_

Annabeth remembers Bianca travelling them away. Or attempting to, anyway. That's all. Nothing else, only screams and darkness.

She pushes Rachel off of her, on to the sidewalk. "What the fuck!" she complains.

"Where are we?" Bianca blurts out, startled by Rachel's voice.

Zoe's eyes snap open, her hand already gripping a knife, "What happened?"

Mortals walk quickly past the girls, disregarding them. It's as if they've seen weirder things than a strange red headed girl lying down on the concrete.

"Well," Rachel says. "My guess is we're in New York City."

"Really, Rachel?" Annabeth says in a mock tone of voice. "It's not like the major commercial intersection known as Times Squares right in front of us gave it away or anything."

Rachel looks around, rolling her eyes, "Well, I have to use the bathroom. I'll be in the McDonald's if you need me."

Rachel wanders off into the crowd. Bianca sighs, "I'll go with her to make sure she doesn't get into trouble."

Annabeth and Zoe watch on in silence as there two friends disappear from sight. Annabeth stares at glowing McDonald's sign, her mind thinking back to Mount Othrys. She thinks about Percy's betrayal and the stale taste it leaves in her mouth. What is she supposed to tell Atalanta?

"You can't trust men," Zoe says bitterly, as if sensing Annabeth's thoughts. "In the end they always let you down."

Annabeth closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, "Why did you join the Hunt?"

"The sword," Zoe says sadly. "I gave it to a hero as a gift many years ago. To Heracles."

Annabeth stares at her, "You … helped Heracles? But you're not mentioned in any of the stories."

"My name was ripped from the text books. All my family's doing." Zoe shoulders slump. For a moment she resembles Artemis holding the fallen body of Atalanta in her arms. "It was a foolish mistake, giving him Anaklusmos and assisting him with his eleventh labor. In return he never mentioned me and I was left to face the wrath of my family. They disowned me, stripping me of my immortality. I wandered Hellas in bitter solitude. No one would take me: god, Titan or mortal. That was until Artemis found me. Being a Hunter soon gave me a purpose again. I have served my goddess faithfully ever since."

Again, Annabeth sighs. She offers no response, staring straight at the giant screens from Times Square. A new report on the Hudson River appears on one of them.

A realization dawns on Zoe, "Annabeth, I believe I know here the Golden Fleece is."

"Wait… what?"

"Come!" the Hunter shouts, grabbing Annabeth's arm.

"Wait, what about Rachel and Bianca?" she asks.

"We shall find them later. Come on!"

"Are you sure you can do this?" Annabeth questions, standing in Battery Park. "How do you know it's in the river anyway!"

Zoe rolls her eyes, "My mother is a water goddess, Annabeth. Thou would be surprised how long I can hold my breath. I am better suited for this task then you. And yes, I am sure the fleece is here. I didn't think of it before, when we passed the river on our way to Camp Half-Blood but there's no other logical explanation for river to clean itself in the blink of an eye."

"Don't pick a fight with anyone!" she retorts as Zoe comes to the shoreline.

The Hunter leaves her weapons behind, giving Annabeth a smile, "I shall not promise that!"

She dives into the crystal clear water. A month ago, this river had been filthy, loaded to the brim with pollution. Now it was like diving into the crystal clear waters of Maui. Zoe drops down to the bottom of the river, studying her surroundings. She swims towards the brightly lit parts of the Hudson.

Zoe's not sure how long she's underwater for, eight minutes at the most, when something shimmers from the corner of her eye. She turns, seeing the fleece tucked under an algae covered rock.

Zoe smiles to herself in triumph.

**Labyrinth—June 16 **

They're wandering through a brick hall, one that seems to go on forever. It's unfamiliar to Thalia and Nico, which certainly means that's a bad thing.

"Do you smell that?" Nico asks suddenly.

Thalia looks at him, irritated, "Smell what?" But in fact she does smell something, like they're nearing a graveyard.

"The Underworld," Nico says. "We're getting close."

Subconsciously, the grasp on the silver bow in her hands (Zoe's bow, she believes) tightens.

Sure enough as they keep walking, ghostly moans come, bring on an eerie light to the Labyrinth. A greenish mist covers the floor so that they can't see their feet. Then they spot a tunnel off to the side, dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick, black tree roots.

Nico frowns, "I know where we are. Under the Fields of Asphodel. Those are Poplar trees."

"The Labyrinth really goes down that far?" Thalia questions.

He shrugs, "It does now."

They continue forward, about a hundred meters before they catch the noise of a large door slamming. Thalia pales, hearing the sound of light footsteps.

They turn around, making a run for it. Again, nearing the tunnel of tree roots, they run straight into a Laistrygonian giant. He snarls, swiping at them with his overgrown nails. Nico dodges, giving the giant a quick kick to the face.

While the monster's distracted, Thalia fingers the string on the silver bow, letting loose a volley of arrows. They don't even get enough time to recover. From behind them, arrows are shot out of the blackness. They jump into the tree root tunnel, the arrows missing them by an inch. The passageway goes on for twenty feet until splitting off into three directions: straight ahead, right, and left.

Thalia takes covers behind the left wall, Nico the right. They take a moment to catch their breath, listening to their surroundings. They can hear large footsteps, splashing in the indoor swamp. There's another set of footsteps, lighter than the others. It hardly makes a sound, just a quiet slosh.

"Thalia…" she hears a voice purr. It's Luke's obviously, with a sadistic tone that seems to mock her. "Come out where ever you are…"

Another arrow is shot, this time closer to her. When it hits a brick wall, it explodes. Nico jumps from his hiding place, dodging the arrows, towards Thalia. She fires off projectiles of her own before Nico grabs her shirt, hauling her down the left corridor. Several more explosions go off behind them; they figure the arrows are tipped with explosive Greek fire.

They're not sure how long they run for, jumping over more poplar roots and treading over wet volcanic soil. Soon, the tunnel begins to slope upward, coming to an end under a steel trapdoor. Without hesitation they push the exit open.

**Underworld—June 16**

A dark mountain looms above them. A dusty trail snakes up a few hundred feet to the mouth of a cave, the path lined with human bones.

"I don't like this," Thalia murmurs. "Is this Hecate's cave?"

"No," Nico says with the slightest hint of fear. "This goddess is worse, much _much_ worse."

As if in response, a hissing sound echoes down the mountain, white mist billowing from the cave entrance.

In the fog, an image appears—a tall woman with disheveled blond hair. She wears a pink bathrobe and holds a wineglass in her left hand. Her face is stern and disapproving. Nico can see right through her, indicating her as some kind of shade, but her voice sounds real enough.

"Now you come back," she growls. "Well, it's too late!"

Thalia's frozen in place, staring at the spirit.

"Mother?" Her eyes tear up and suddenly she feels like a little girl again.

The spirit throws down her wineglass. It shatters, dissolving into the fog. "That's right, girl. Doomed to walk the earth, and it's your fault! Where were you when I died? Where were you when Jason needed you? When I needed you?"

Her eyes widen, "But I–I –"

"You wretched, ungrateful little girl!" she screeches.

"Stop!" Nico steps forward with his sword drawn, but the spirit changes form and faces him.

This ghost is harder to see: a woman in a hospital gown. Her dark hair is tied back and she looks at Nico with Bianca's face.

He stops in his tracks. "No …"

"My son," the ghost says. "I died when you were so young. I haunt the world in grief, wondering about you and your sister."

"Mama?"

"No, it's my mother," Thalia murmurs, still seeing the first image.

The face of Maria Di Angelo glowers at Thalia, "Vile girl! It was your father who made me what I am today." Thalia doesn't seem to hear her, the image of her own mother still stuck in her mind.

"What are you talking about?" Nico demands weakly.

"Zeus had me killed," Maria snarls. "He wanted me in his bed and I refused. And now I paid the price."

The fog begins to thicken around their feet, twining around their legs like vines. The color seems to fade from their clothes and faces, as if they too are becoming shades.

"Enough," says a familiar voice. "Be gone hag."

The ghost turns towards the sound. For a moment her image flickers, and they see the goddess's true form.

Her right half is pale and chalky white, like she'd been drained of blood. Her left half is pitch-black and hardened, like a mummy's skin. She adorns a golden dress and a golden shawl. Like many of the Underworld deities they'd met, her eyes are empty black voids.

"You interfere, Thanatos," she growls in frustration, backing up quickly.

Thanatos scowls, gripping his scythe, "And you don't, Melinoe? Leave us witch before your ichor winds up on this blade.

Melinoe backs up farther away and the fog dissipates from Thalia and Nico's feet. She turns to them hissing, "You are too late demigods. The deal has been struck."

She dissolves into the mist.

"What does she mean by _the deal has been struck_?" Nico demands.

Thanatos looks at him, glancing behind him at the mountain, "Erebus stole the keys of Hades this morning. The Underworld has been shut down in search of him but he knows the Labyrinth too well. He's come to free the Titan brothers. Melinoe is to aid in their escape."

"Why are you wasting your time telling us this?" Thalia growls, her eyes rimmed with red. "We can be in the cave right now stopping them!"

"Really?" Thanatos raises an eyebrow. "Do you wish to be incinerated?"

At the moment, a bright light appears at the mouth of the cave, immense heat billowing straight towards them.

"It is already too late," he says as men's laughter echoes down the mountain.

"You are right, puny cousin," a man's booms. Out of the light a giant man appears, his eyes pure silver. His face is covered with a scraggly beard and his gray hair sticks out wildly. He looks thin and haggard in his ripped prison clothes, as though he's spent the last few thousand years at the bottom of a pit, but even in this weakened state he looks plenty scary.

He holds out his hand and a giant spear appears. The Titan smiles cruelly, "Now come here so I can kill you."

"Iapetus!" Another voice roars from the cavern. Two other men in tattered prison jumpsuits step forward, glaring at him. "Do not waste your time fighting mere mortals," they warn.

Iapetus ignores them, narrowing his eyes at Thalia and Nico.

"Lord!" Luke interrupts, joining them. "You are not at full strength. Kronos's orders were to flee."

The Titan whirls on him, "FLEE? Did you say FLEE?"

The ground rumbles. Luke flinches as he roars in his face, "IAPETUS DOES NOT FLEE! I have waited three eons to be summoned from the pit. I want revenge, and I will start by killing these weaklings!"  
>He levels his spear at them, charging.<p>

Even weakened and just out of the pit, the guy is fast. He moves like a tornado, slashing so quickly Nico barely has time to dodge the strike before his spear impales the rock where he'd been standing.

Iapetus yanks the spear out of the ground, but as he turns to face Nico, Thalia shoots a flank full of arrows, from his shoulder to his knee. He roars and turns on her, looking angrier than wounded. Luke charges into the fight.

"Fools," the other two Titans snarl, running down the mountain away from the battle.

Thanatos narrows his eyes at their retreating figures, "Nico, stay here! Try not to die while I'm gone!"

The son of Hades huffs in disdain as Luke engages him in battle, "I won't be making that promise!"

Iapetus slashes with his spear. Thalia leaps out of the way, dropping her bow to draw her knives. But even then Nico knows she won't last long in close combat.

A small fissure erupts between him and Luke. Five armored skeletons climb out of the ground. Nico leaves Luke to the skeletons, charging at Iapetus. He launches himself at the Titan, impaling his blade in to the Titan's calf.

Golden ichor gushes from the wound. Iapetus yells in pain, slamming the shaft of his spear into Nico's chest, sending him flying.

Nico crashes into the rocks, right next to the River Lethe. The Titan lunges towards him. Thalia tries to get his attention by zapping him with an arc of electricity from her knives, but she might as well be a mosquito. Iapetus knocks her aside without even looking. "I will kill you all! Then I will cast your souls into the eternal darkness of Tartarus!"

Nico smirks, "You know I met your son Atlas earlier. He's a real dumbass. But, looking now, I can see where he gets his stupidity from."

Iapetus snarls, limping forward. He raises his spear. As he brings it down to impale Nico's chest he lurches sideways. The shaft impales the ground right next to Nico. He reaches up, grabbing his shirt collar. Nico counts on the fact the Titan's off balance and hurt, pulling Iapetus forward with all his body weight. Iapetus stumbles, falling.

Before Nico's back can come in contact with water, Nico disappears into a shadow, leaving the Titan to fall freely into the churning black water. Nico collapses on the riverbank.

He stares back at the cave to see Thalia holding her own against Luke. Then a wall of dark energy erupts from his sword, slamming into her chest. She flies backwards, crashing into Nico.

He coughs, clutching his abdomen, "You're a lot heavier than you look."

Thalia huffs, "Yeah well, ROLL!"

And Nico's does roll, for all that he's worth. Luke's sword misses them by an inch, embedding itself into the damp soil. Luke growls, turning all his attention to Nico.

Thalia comes to a stop, trying to stand but her legs give out. Her chest burns, eating away at the little energy she has left. Thalia shakes off the pain, firing off a bolt of electricity straight at Luke.

It's Luke's reflexes that prevent him from getting hit. He angles his body out of the way, letting Thalia's attack fly past him harmlessly. Nico ducks just in time, singing a few strands of his hair. Taking the distraction, Thalia grabs her knives.

Nico and Luke's blades clash again and again. Luke knows Nico's running out of tricks. His blade hits the base of Nico's sword. He twists, putting his whole weight into a downward thrust.

Next thing they know Nico's disarmed with a sword pointed at his undefended. Luke's makes an attempt to smirk but a knife whistles through the air straight towards them.

Luke sidesteps quickly to avoid the blade, letting down his guard. Nico grabs the knife in mid-air, the dagger slashing a small cut on his palm. Thalia charges at Luke while Nico lunges. He evades both of them, grabbing Nico's sword.

Nico stabs forward but Luke parries the strike, ducking to avoid Thalia's overhead cut. He rolls to the side, stabbing both swords into the ground. The earth rumbles, releasing a wave of pure energy.

The two demigods fly back, nearly taking a head dive into the Lethe. When Thalia's vision comes back into focus, she sees Luke looming over the both of them, a sword pointed at both their necks.

"Well?" Thalia asks angrily glaring at him, hiding the fear in her voice. "Finish it."

Luke's body trembles with fury, his eyes black like midnight. He smiles at her, "What is the point in killing your prey without taunting it first? Seeing it beg for mercy?"

She raises an eyebrow, "Beg? You've got the wrong person if you ever think I'll spend the last fucking moments of my life begging for mercy."

"She's right," Nico says. "Daedalus taught us better."

"Fools, your teacher taught you no humility," Erebus sneers.

"But he taught us to keep fighting till the last breath," Thalia growls. At an ungiven signal, they grab Luke by his ankles, yanking him forward with as much strength as they can muster.

He loses balance, one of the blades scraping Thalia's shoulder. They roll to the side once again, this time allowing Luke to fall headfirst into the River Lethe.

They stare at the bubbling water, utterly exhausted.

Nico is the first one to speak. "We're alive," he muses.

Thalia frowns, her mind in deep thought. "Nico... about what Melinoe said… do you really think Zeus killed your mom?"

He sighs, "I don't know Thalia. Between Melinoe, Thanatos and Annabeth's dream… I'm not sure what to think anymore."

They're silent for few more moments until a hand shoots up to the water's surface. They scramble back in shock, watching as the hand grips the soil of the riverbank. Thalia and Nico watch on in astonishment as Luke drags himself on to shore, struggling against the strong current, soaking wet.

He rests on the dark grass, coughing up a storm. A black, blood like substance oozes out of his mouth. As soon as it drops to the ground, it sizzles like acid. If anything, Nico's positive that's not water from the Lethe.

Thalia blinks, "Well… uh, that's not something you see every day."


	10. Chapter 9

**Los Angeles, CA—June 17**

Now Thalia didn't exactly enjoy smoking. Being the daughter of the sky god and all, you weren't particularly a fan of air pollutants. But things change.

All the thoughts running around in her head just seems to disappear. Relaxing doesn't come easy to Thalia, only at times when she's too drunk or high to care about anything anymore.

"That's not good for you," she hears someone murmur. Nico steps into sunlight, his eyes glued to the Californian surf stretched out below the hotel balcony they were standing on. Los Angeles was actually a nice place to visit if you didn't plan on stopping by the Underworld.

"Spending two hours drowning bottles of vodka isn't good for you either."

Nico smiles, shaking his head, "You stressed?"

Thalia sighs, extinguishing the cigarette, "Yeah."

"Luke-related?" She doesn't respond.

"I thought so," he mumbles. "Castellan's still passed out in the bedroom. He woke up once, had no idea who I was. If you ask me, Thalia… everything kind of worked out. Erebus is gone, we didn't have to kill Luke and he doesn't remember any of the awful things Erebus made him do. You shouldn't feel bad."

"What about you?" Thalia interjects. "You don't just run out to the nearest bar for nothing. Depression again?"

"Yeah, so?"

She smirks, "Bianca or Terra?"

"A little bit of both," he admits.

Thalia frowns, "What happened with you and Terra anyway? The both of you were close and now… she wants to kill you."

Nico sighs, scratching his forehead, "Before Percy's party at Camp Half-Blood… me and Terra where cool and all. We spent the fall together messing around, getting drunk. One night we were so fucked up… yeah know, we just had sex."

Thalia blinks, "You… and Terra? I can't picture it."

"I know, like a fucking bad case of Jersey Shore," he murmurs. "So Terra… I don't know. She started making a big deal out of it when really, it was nothing. And, I don't see her like that, you know? Terra just reminds me of a really annoying cousin. Not a love interest or anything. I tried telling her this but… she just got angry. The next morning, she was gone and I haven't spoken to her ever since."

Thalia gets the feeling he's leaving something out but she decides not to pry. The look on Nico's face gives her the idea he doesn't feel comfortable talking about this.

She changes the subject, "So, what about Bianca?"

He shrugs, "As much as I hate to say this, I kind of miss her."

Thalia laughs, "You know, it's not a bad thing to miss your siblings. I miss Jason sometimes too you know."

"But as least Jason is tolerable. He's good at accepting people, no matter how fucked up they are. Bianca… it's just… what she said about you and Annabeth… it just gets to me, you know? The way she judges people without actually getting to know them."

"It's not entirely her fault you know," Thalia tells him. "Spending nearly two decades with Artemis and the Hunters has changed her outlook on things. She's not used to… our… ways, I guess."

"I suppose your right," Nico says indifferently.

Thalia shakes her head, "You know what your problem is? You hold way too many grudges; always keeping your anger bottled up. There's always something you can never let go, like when we were four and I stole your cookie."

"It was a very nice cookie too," Nico snaps. "It was one of the big animal shaped ones with the frosting! I had to steal that from Gorgon Cookies fighting one of Medusa's sisters for it! And then you just come out of nowhere and bite the head off. That's not cool Thalia!"

She laughs, her eyes watering, "Really Nico? You see what I mean?"

He ignores that, "Well we can't all be bipolar like you."

"I'm not bipolar," she retorts.

Again, Nico ignores her, "And at least I'm tame. When you get angry the whole fucking world has to know. _BAM!_ Ah shit, there's a giant tornado ripping through Missouri."

"Fine," Thalia says finally. "I'll tell you what. We can help each other. You can inspire me to be calmer and I can assist you in letting out your emotions. You know, before your rage turns into decaying evil."

Nico take a moment to think about this, smirking, "Then I will be looking forward to that. A chance to see Thalia Grace calm is a once and lifetime opportunity."

She narrows her eyes, daring to say something when she hears another voice.

_"You two are very entertaining."_

They turn around slowly, surprised by the Iris message behind them. Nico instantly remembers the goddess, having seen her before in his dreams.

"Hecate," he murmurs. "What brings you here?"

Hecate rolls her eyes, _"As much as I hate to say this… I need your help."_

**Mount Saint Helens—June 17**

Now Thalia and Nico have been in strange caverns before. None of them, of course, harbored a chamber of bubbling lava a couple hundred feet below. They stand on a rock ledge circling the cavern, networks of metal bridges spanning across it. In the center, strange creatures, too far away to make out, work on a huge platform.

"We won't be able to sneak up on them," Nico whispers.

Thalia rolls her eyes, "Nico, you know metal's a good conductor of electricity right?"

"Um…yeah?"

"Watch and learn." She zaps the metal bridge. At first, nothing happens. Then, one by one, the creatures screech, passing out over there machines and worktables.

"Come on," Thalia murmurs, edging herself along the outer rim of the lava lake. The heat is terrible. In a matter of seconds the two demigods are dripping with sweat.

"Never again, Nico," Thalia hisses. "Never again are we doing a favor for a goddess."

"We're not just doing this for Hecate," he reminds her. "We have to finish the prophecy."

"Well prophecies suck ass," she retorts. They keep moving, attempting to avoid the edge. But then they stop, their path blocked by a cart on metal wheels.

"Shit, do you think we can squeeze around it?" Thalia asks.

Nico is about to say something but is soon cut off by the sound of voices ahead, "Bring it in?" he hears one ask.

"Yeah," another says. "Movie's just about done."

"Get in!" Nico growls, lifting the tarp, revealing the cart half full of scrap metal. Thalia doesn't have time to complain. They hide in the cart, Nico shushing her. The cart lurches forward.

"Oi," a gruff voice complains. "This thing weighs a ton."

"Its celestial bronze," the other retorts. "What did you expect?"

Both half-bloods are unsure of where they're headed, praying to the gods they're not about be dumped into some smoldering pot. After making a sharp turn, the cart is pulled down a tunnel into a smaller room.

All Nico hears is talking, chattering voices that aren't quite human, somewhere between a seal's bark and a dog's growl. Of course there are other sounds too like an old-fashioned film projector and the tiny voice of a narrator.

"Just set it in the back," a new voice orders from across the room. "Now, younglings, please attend to the film. There will be time for questions afterward."

The voices settle down.

The narrator on the film continues, "_As a young sea demon matures, changes happen in the monster's body. You may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings. These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters." _

Excited snarling fills the room. The teacher, or what Nico assumes is a teacher, tells the younglings to be quiet, allowing the film to continue. Thalia doesn't understand it much, not bothering to take a peek at her surroundings. But for some reasons Nico stiffens as the film talks about growth spurts and acne problems cause by working in the forges. And certainly not forgetting the part on proper flipper hygiene.

The film stops.

"Now, younglings," the instructor says. "What is the proper name for our kind?"

"Sea demons?" a shrill voice barks.

"No. Anyone else?"

"Telekhines!" another monster growls.

"Very good," the teacher murmurs. "And why are we here?"

"Revenge!" the whole class shouts in unison.

"Yes, yes, but why?"

"Zeus is evil!" one monster shouts. "He cast us into Tartarus for using magic."

"He sure did," the instructor says. "Even after we made many of god's finest weapons, the trident of Poseidon to name one, Zeus cast us away, relying on those fumbling Cyclopes. That is why we are taking over the forges of Hephaestus. Soon we will take back control of ancestral home, the undersea furnaces! And so younglings, who do we serve?"

"Kronos!" they cheer.

"And when you grow to be big telekhines will you make weapons for his army?"

"Yes!"

"Excellent. Now, we've brought in some scraps for you to practice with. Let us see how ingenious you are."

There sounds of movement and excited voices near the cart. Both Nico and Thalia grab their weapons as the tarp in thrown back.

"Demigods!" the teacher—a six foot creature with the head of a Doberman, the body of seal, and sets of humanoid hands and feet—screeches.

"Eat them!" one yells.

Nico slashes his sword in a wide arc, the whole front row of telekhines disappearing.

"Back off!" he snarls at the rest, malice dripping into his voice.

"New lesson class," Thalia announces. "Most monsters will vaporize at the touch of Celestial Bronze or Stygian Iron. This change is perfectly normal and will happen to you _right now_ if you don't back the fuck up!"

To Nico's surprise, Thalia's threat actually works. The monster's back away, giving the cart some distance but Nico can tell this stunt won't last long.

They jump out of the cart, Thalia yelling, "CLASS DISMISSED!" dashing for the exit. At this point Nico's unsure where he's heading, running back up the tunnel they came through, when a familiar voice in his head tells him to go right.

_Left,_ it tells him again.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Thalia pants.

"I think so."

_Right then left and take the stairs._

Nico obeys, still unsure if he should trust this foreign voice in his head. But then again, it's better than getting eaten by a class of seal freaks. Just as the voice had said they come to a stairwell. Nico leads the way, taking the metal stairs three at a time. For some reason his thoughts wander off to Alcatraz, how similar this scene is to him. Except this time he can relax, knowing Thalia is safe.

_Second cell on the left._

They come to a dead end, six different rooms lining the left wall. Nico turns to Thalia, nodding. She rolls her eyes, kicking open the second door.

Crying is immediately heard, a small girl crouching over a lit candle. Tears stream down her heart shaped face, fear evident in her teary brown eyes.

Thalia's expression softens, "Don't worry, we're gonna take you away from here."

**Mount Tamalpais—June 17**

"Are you sure it's here?" Nico asks again.

The little girl, Lou Ellen, nods, "In the big tent, right corner. The man with the scar kept staring at it. He wouldn't tell me what it was though."

Thalia sighs, her back to the large boulder they were hiding behind, "Stay here, okay? Don't move and don't make a sound."

"And if you see a monster," Nico adds, "Don't hesitate to kill it."

"Okay," she whispers obediently.

Thalia turns to Nico, "You ready to do this?"

"Ready then I'll ever be."

The Titan camp is strangely empty. No sounds are heard, no enemies seen, just dead silence. They sneak into the largest tent positioned in the center of camp. Unsurprisingly it's empty and dark, much like the other tents in camp.

"Don't you find this weird?" Thalia asks.

"Of course," Nico says. "But we don't have time to worry about it."

Something catches his eye. Just like Lou Ellen said, it's in the right corner, providing the tent with a dim light source. It's the same giant crystal ball from Hecate's cave, the five lights still banging against the glass.

Thalia frowns at it, finding herself moving towards it. To her, the lights are familiar but somehow strange and chilling. It's as if they're warning her to stay back. Thalia doesn't even realize she's reaching out to touch the crystal ball until she hears Nico's voice, "Thalia, what are you doing?"

She doesn't respond. She touches the warm glass, a spark igniting in her wrist. Suddenly, Thalia's enveloped in darkness.

_"Took you long enough," _Thalia hears through the shadows. She's in a pitch black room.

"Nico?"

_"You wish,_" the voice replies. A white light appears out of nowhere; the flame of a candle. Sitting on the floor next to it is no other than Silena Beauregard.

She gives Thalia a mysterious smile, _"You and Nico, huh?"_

Thalia's gaze hardens, "Excuse me?"

_"I'm not stupid Thalia," _Silena snorts. _"You like him."_

"I do not!" Thalia protests, her cheeks burning.

_"Whatever,"_ she grumbles. _"Now get us out of here, the others are getting impatient."_

_"Exactly,"_ replies an angry voice. Suddenly, Thalia's not talking to Silena. It's Beckendorf. "_Do you realize how cramped it is in this stupid glass ball?"_

"Where'd Silena…"

_"Oh don't worry about her,"_ he replies quickly_. "She got bored talking to you. She's probably around here somewhere, harassing Clarisse and Will maybe. Now enough talking, can you get us out of here? I'd rather not be reincarnated again."_

"Reincarnated?"

_"Well yeah," he says. "We… all of us are. Us Chosen Ones are pretty much the same souls generation after generation, only moved into a different body. Hey, did you know Clarisse was a guy at one point? Says a lot doesn't it?"_

"Wait so… I-we all…"

_"Yup, but that'll end now. We just need you and Nico to destroy this fucked up prison and our souls will go to the Underworld. Elysium if we're lucky."_

"Okay…" Thalia murmurs. "So how do I get out here?"

Beckendorf's eyebrow furrows, _"Right…. Clarisse!"_

He disappears, replaced by the daughter of Ares herself. _"Hey Thalia,"_ she smiles innocently, cracking her knuckles.

She glances at her wearily, "Why did Beck—" Thalia stops mid-sentence as Clarisse takes the opportunity to punch Thalia in the face.

"Shit!" she hisses, falling to the ground.

"Thalia?" she hears Nico's familiar voice murmur. Clarisse is gone, Thalia suddenly in the Titan Army's camp again.

"What happ—…did you get punched?" he asks, her face throbbing.

"Clarisse," Thalia mumbles simply. "Break the glass. They're getting impatient."

"What?"

"_May the souls of the Chosen Ones be put to rest," _she tells him. "They're in the glass ball and they wanna get out."

Nico sighs, deciding not to argue with Thalia when she has that crazy look in her eyes, "And how do you suppose we do that?"

She rolls eyes, "Just give me your sword."

Nico hands it over without complaint. He runs a hand through his hair, "You do know what you're doing right?"

"Of course," Thalia says nonchalantly, raising the Stygian Iron sword. She the sword against the thick glass, satisfied by the large crack that appears on its surface. She hits it again, the ball breaking into a million pieces. The lights fly out of their prison, the room darkening. They form into one large, glittering mass, stretching around Thalia and Nico. The lights grow hazier, turning into a greenish mist. Through the fog they see the others: Silena, Beckendorf, Clarisse, Katie and Will Solace.

"Thank you," they murmur in unison before dissolving through the tent floor.

Thalia's heart grows oddly heavy, "Well… looks like our work here's done."

Lou greets them when they return to her hiding spot behind the boulder, "Are you guys okay?"

Thalia nods, giving the girl a small pat on the head, "We're done kiddo. You ready to see Camp Half-Blood?"

Her eyes widen. She nods, grinning.

**Half-Blood Hill—June 17**

A shadow spits them out beside Daphne's laurel. Peleus grumbles, glaring at them. Thalia's pleased to see he's finally awake, back to his old growly self. One a low branch above him the Golden Fleece glitters in the sunlight.

Thalia grins, "Wow I can't believe they found it."

"Huh, maybe the quest wasn't a total waste after all," Nico says.

"I don't think I like this place," Lou murmurs, looking down at the valley below. Nico and Thalia follow her gaze, their happy expressions from their faces melting.

Nico swallows hard, staring at the destruction below, "That's because it's not supposed to look like that."


	11. Chapter 10

**Camp Half-Blood—June 17**

**Earlier that day…**

Jason's sister and her friends had been gone for a little less than two weeks. Chiron had tried Iris messaging them, to see if they were okay. It never managed to get through. So Jason was left to worry as he watched over his little niece and nephew who asked about their mother almost every day. And sadly, Jason never did have an answer.

Five days after the girls had gone into the Labyrinth, Quintus had volunteered to go after them. Chiron rejected the idea but the sword trainer left anyways. By morning he was gone.

They hadn't heard from Quintus until yesterday night, where he sent Chiron an emergency Iris Message. Camp Half-Blood was to be attacked. From this morning on, the whole camp had been on red alert.

It's by far, the biggest military operation Jason's ever seen at camp. Everyone is in the clearing, dressed in full battle armor. Only this time, it isn't for Capture the Flag.

The Hephaestus cabin had set up traps around the entrance to the Labyrinth—razor wire, pits filled with pots of Greek fire, rows of sharpened sticks to deflect a charge. Jake Mason's manning two catapults the size of pickup trucks, already primed and aimed at Zeus's Fist. The Ares cabin is on the front line, drilling in phalanx formation with Rafael calling orders. Apollo's and Hermes's cabins are scattered in the woods with bows ready.

Many have taken up positions in the trees. Even the dryads are armed with bows, and the satyrs trot around with wooden cudgels and shields made of rough tree bark. Jason spots Murphy up there, stringing her bow from her father Aelous.

Malcolm is off with his brethren from the Athena cabin, who are directing operations from a command tent near the woods. A gray banner with an owl flutters outside the tent. Their security chief, Argus, stands guard at the door.

Aphrodite's children are running around straightening everybody's armor and offering to comb the tangles out of our horsehair plumes. Piper isn't there, probably doing her best to round up the young children back at the cabins.

Even Dionysus's kids have found something to do. The god himself is still nowhere to be seen, but his two blond twin sons are running around providing all the sweaty warriors with water bottles and juice boxes.

It looks like a pretty good setup, but Chiron mutters next to him. "It isn't enough."

For once Jason wishes Dionysus was here, but even if he had been, Jason's not sure if he'd be able to do anything. When it comes to war, gods are forbidden to interfere directly. Apparently, Titans don't believe in such restrictions.

"Stay with me, Jason," Chiron says. "When the fighting begins, I want you to wait until we know what we're dealing with. You must go where we need the most reinforcements."

It's a tough task but the centaur speaks just in time. The ground underneath them begins to tremble.

Everyone in the clearing stops what they're doing. Rafael only has time to bark a single order: "Lock shields!"

The Titan lord's army explodes from the Labyrinth.

Jason had been in many fights before, but never a full-scale battle. The first thing he sees are a dozen Laistrygonian giants erupting from the ground, yelling so loudly his ears feel like bursting. They carry shields made from flattened cars, and clubs as big as tree trunks with rusty spikes bristling at the end. One of the giants bellows at the Ares phalanx, smashing them sideways with his club. The entire cabin is thrown aside, a dozen warriors tossed to the wind like rag dolls.

"Fire!" Jake Mason yells. The catapults swing into action. Two boulders hurtle towards the giants. One deflects off a car shield with hardly a dent, but the other catches a Laistrygonian in the chest.

Apollo's archers fire a volley, dozens of arrows sticking in the thick armor of the giants like porcupine quills. Several find chinks in armor, and some of the giants vaporize at the touch of celestial bronze.

But just when it looks like the Laistrygonian are about to be overwhelmed, the next wave surges out of the maze: thirty, maybe forty _dracaenae _in full battle armor, wielding spears and nets. They disperse in all directions. Some hit the traps the Hephaestus cabin had laid. One gets stuck on the spikes, becoming an easy target for archers. Another triggers a trip wire, and pots of Greek fire explode into green flames, engulfing several of the snake women. But many more keep coming. Argus and Athena's warriors rush forward to meet them. Jason sees Malcom drawing a sword, engaging one of them.

Chiron calmly aims arrow after arrow, taking down a monster with every shot. But more enemies just keep climbing out of the maze. Finally a hellhound—not Mrs. O'Leary—leaps out of the tunnel, barreling straight toward the satyrs.

"GO!" Chiron yells at him.

Jason draws his sword, charging.

As he races across the battlefield, he sees horrible snippets of other battles. An enemy half-blood fights off a son of Dionysus, but it isn't much of a contest. The enemy stabs him in the arm then clubs him over the head with the butt of his sword. The Dionysus kid goes down.

Jason sees Harley, a son of Hephaestus, dragging Jake Mason away from the battle, towards the trees where the nymphs and satyrs are. There's a large wound on Jake's leg, which bleeds out onto the battlefield. Suddenly, a javelin from a dracaenae flies straight towards them. Harley shoves his brother away towards a nymph's tree just as the javelin pierces straight through his back right at the base of his spine.

Another enemy warrior shoots flaming arrows into the trees, sending their archers and dryads into a panic.

A dozen _dracaenae _suddenly break away from the main fight, slithering down a path leading towards camp, like they know where they're going. If they get out, they can burn down the entire place, completely unopposed.

Jason closes in on the hellhound, which is now pushing the satyrs back towards the woods. The beast snaps at one satyr, who dances out of its way, but then it pounces on another who's too slow. The satyr's tree-bark shield cracks as he falls. The demon makes its way towards Jake who's lying beside his fallen brother.

"Hey!" Jason yells.

The hellhound turns, snarling. It lunges, and it should've clawed Jason to pieces. But as he falls backwards, his fingers close around a clay jar—one of Jake Mason's containers of Greek fire. He tosses it into the hellhound's maw, and the creature goes up in flames. Jason scrambles away, breathing heavily.

A forest fire's started up. Flames roars within ten feet of Juniper's tree, to which she desperately tries to put out. A few satyrs attempt to play a rain song on their reed pipes. Juniper beats out the flames with her green shawl, but it only makes things worse.

Jason runs towards them, jumping past duels, weaving between the legs of giants.

The nearest water is the creek, half a mile away…but he knows he has to do something. Jason concentrates on the sky. Black clouds roll in, covering the sun. A familiar shock runs along his spine, along with the sound of thunder. Lightning crackles along the clouds, ripping open to release rain.

The heavy water droplets the size of baseballs literally pound the flames into non-existence.

"Thanks, Jason!" she yells.

"No problem!" he runs back towards the fight.

Just when it seems like the battle has balanced out again—like camp might stand a chance—an unearthly shriek echoed out of the Labyrinth. Another legion of hellhounds erupts from the ground, followed by…

Jason's stomach does a somersault. A monster more horrible than anything he's ever seen shoots up into the sky. It was sort of like a centaur, with a woman's body from the waist up. But instead of a horse's lower body; it had the body of a dragon—at least twenty feet long, black and scaly with enormous claws and a barbed tail. Her legs looked like they were tangled in vines, but then I realized they were sprouting snakes, hundreds of vipers darting around, constantly looking for something to bite. The woman's hair was also made of snakes, like Medusa's. around her waist, where the woman part met the dragon part, her skin bubbled and morphed, occasionally producing the heads of animals—a vicious wolf, a bear, a lion, as if she were wearing a belt of ever-changing creatures.

"Oh, shit," Jason murmurs.

She lands on the top of Zeus's Fist, surveying the carnage. Her face is filled with evil glee. She draws her curved swords, twin blades glowing green with poison.

"_Kampê!_" Malcolm yells. "Get back!"

The demon, Kampê, screeches in triumph. Some campers scream, others try to run, only to get trampled by the incoming hellhounds. Jason remembers her, the beast who guarded the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires before Zeus freed them, starting the First Titan War.

"_Di Immortales!" _Chiron yells. He quickly aims an arrow, but Kampê seems to sense his presence. She takes flight with amazing speed, allowing Chiron's arrow to whiz harmlessly past her head.

The hellhounds sprint past the battles amongst the others, following the dracaenae straight up the path towards camp.

Kampê lands on the Athena command tent, smashing it flat. Jason runs after her, finding Malcolm at his side, keeping pace, his sword in hand.

"This might be it," he says.

"Could be."

"It's been nice fighting with you and your big ego."

"Ditto."

"You know, it's a shame you never got to kiss Murphy."

Jason rolls his eyes, his face reddening, "Shut up Owl Head."

Together they leap into the monster's path. Kampê hisses and slices at them. Jason dodges, trying to distract her, while Malcolm goes in for a strike. But the monster seems able to fight with both hands independently.

Kampe blocks Malcolm's sword, which causes the son of Athena to jump back to avoid the cloud of poison. Just being near the thing is like standing in an acid fog.

Jason's eyes burn. His lungs can't get enough air. The two of them wouldn't be able to stand their ground for more than a few seconds.

"Come on!" Jason shouts. "We need help!"

But no help comes. Everyone is either down, fighting for their lives, or too scared to move forward. Three of Chiron's arrows sprout from Kampê's aromor, but she just roars louder.

"Now!" Malcolm says.

Together they charge, dodging the monster's slashes, getting inside her guard. They almost…_almost _manage to stab Kampê in the chest, but a huge bear's head lashes out from the monster's waist. Both have to stumble back to avoid getting bitten.

Something slams into them.

Jason's eyesight goes black. The next thing he knows, he and Malcolm are on the ground. The monster has its forelegs on their chests, holding them down.

Hundreds of snakes slither right above Jason, hissing as if laughing. Kampê raises her green-tinged swords. Right then, Jason pretty much assumes he's done for her.

Then, behind Kampe, something howls. A wall of darkness slams into Kampê, sending the monster sideways. Quintus's hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary, is standing over them, snarling and snapping at Kampê.

"Good girl!" says a familiar voice. Quintus fights his way out of the Labyrinth, slashing down enemies left and right as he makes his way towards Malcolm and Jason. Next to him are more familiar people—Annabeth, Zoe and Bianca.

As Mrs. O'Leary leaps out of the way, the Hunters launch a volley of arrows at Kampê. She manages to dodge a few of them but one embeds itself in her leg. She screeches in pain. Bianca launches one last arrow, straight for the demons forehead.

Where Kampê stood a moment ago is nothing but a mound of gold dust, her two green swords lying forgotten on the ground.

A cheer goes up from the campers, but their enemies aren't done yet.

One of the _dracaenae _yells, "Ssssslay them! Kill them all or Kronossss will flay you alive!"

Apparently, that threat is more terrifying than the demigods are.

The giants surge forward in a last desperate attempt. One surprises Chiron with a glancing blow to the back legs. The stumbles and falls. Six giants cry in glee, rushing forward.

"No!" Jason screams, but he's too far away to help. The wind picks up sharply, knocking the giants off their feet. A dozen arrows fire their way like the giants have become the world's largest dart boards.

He catches a glimpse at Murphy who shouts, "You're welcome!" before shooting a dracaenae in the face.

"Nice girlfriend Jason," he hears someone say behind him. Jason ducks, dodging his opponent's overhead strike.

He turns around, facing the demigod. It's the one person he doesn't want to see: Ethan Nakumara.

"So, we meet again," the son of Nemesis says nonchalantly.

"Fuck you, Ethan," Jason hisses.

He shakes his head, "Come on now Grace, that's no way to treat your old friend."

"You're not my friend. You're a traitor, Titan scum."

"You'll kill me then?"

"I won't hesitate," Jason promises.

Ethan gives him a shit-eating grin, "Bring it on then."

Jason lunges without a second thought.

The Pegasai stables are ablaze. The winged horses kick open their wooden doors, trampling straight towards the armory and sword arena. Some take to the sky in panic as they're chased by hellhounds.

Out of all of them, Blackjack is the calmest. He runs past the smoldering strawberry fields, glancing at them with cold calculation.

_We are officially fucked Guido,_ he answers.

_Well don't just stand there!_ His friend argues, kicking off straight into the sky. _I don't know about you, but I'm sure as Hades not gonna be dog chow tonight. Come on!_

_No,_ Blackjack says sternly. _I needa find my boss's little girl._

Guido shakes his head, _Forget the Jackson kid and save yourself._

_No,_ he says again, trotting towards the cabin area.

_You're gonna get yourself killed,_ Guido says finally, flying in the opposite direction as Blackjack. The black Pegasus presses himself hard, running towards the sound of screaming children. He flinches as a dracanae stabs an eight year old Demeter kid with her javelin. If anything, Blackjack hopes Jackson's kid hasn't suffered the same fate.

Blackjack makes it to the cabins, just in time to see Atalanta slam against the wall to Cabin 3. She collides arm first into the gray stone wall. The little girl screams for bloody murder, and it cuts straight through Blackjack's heart.

Blackjack cracks his neck, his black eyes fixing on the large hellhound making its way towards Jackson's—no—_his _little girl. Blackjack snorts, charging straight for the Underworld bastard. The horse catches the hellhound by surprise, as his hooves ram into the monster's blood stained muzzle.

A conch shell echoes in the distance from Half-Blood Hill. Blackjack prays it's reinforcements as the hellhound gets up, snarling at him. He breaks into run, straight towards Cabin 3. The hellhound follows in hot pursuit. Blackjack thanks Poseidon for his powerful legs as he grabs the collar of Atalanta's shirt with his teeth. The Pegasus takes off into the sky, narrowly missing teeth and claws.

From below him, girls in camouflage with silver bows, followed by white wolves charge at the monsters. Some girls fire arrows at the monsters raiding camp, other run straight past the chaos with their wolves straight into the forest.

_That's something you don't see every day, _Blackjack's other friend Porkpie says, flying beside him.

Blackjack nods as best as he can with a little girl in his mouth. _Thank Poseidon the monsters haven't crossed Euros Creek. Let's hope we stand a chance against the Titan Army._

Porkpie snorts, _Please, I just hope I'll be able to taste sugar cubes again._

_Stop, you making me hungry! _The black Pegasus complains, as he flies over Euros Creek, landing in of the Big House. He steps towards the wraparound porch, setting Atalanta down near Mr. D and Chiron's card table.

_She'll be safe here,_ Blackjack says. _Come on, let's see if we can make ourselves useful._

_Or we can fly away like Guido,_ Porkpie grumbles.

_Nice try, but no._

**Camp Half-Blood—June 17**

When Thalia, Nico and Lou Ellen walkthrough Camp Half-Blood, it's like a giant blur. Hunters scatter around them, taking care of the last few monsters and tending to the wounded.

Campers erupt from the forests, all of them exhausted. Many of them have nasty cuts and bruises; some are limping and bleeding heavily. Others who are unconscious are dragged by their fellow half-bloods. At least, Thalia assumes most of them are unconscious.

Annabeth, Zoe, and Bianca are one of the last to appear out of the woods. Slung between them is a comatose Jason Grace.

Thalia runs over feeling her brother's forehead, "What happened?"

"We found him behind Zeus's Fist. He took a bad hit to the head with the hilt of a sword. He might have a concussion." Bianca says.

Annabeth looks at them angrily, "Where the fuck have you two been?"

A wave of fury crosses Nico's face, "We were just fucked over by a goddess."

Thalia circles Camp Half-Blood in search of her children. Bunker 9 is deserted. A horrible thought crosses her mind but she tries to push it away. Those who are strong enough travel in and out of the woods, dragging the bodies of the dead. Two Hephaestus campers have tears in their eyes as they drag their dead brother Harley, and their head counselor Jake Mason who groans in pain with his broken leg.

As they pass by, Thalia gives them a silent prayer.

She runs to the Big House nursery, one of the places she hasn't checked yet. Thalia steps foot on the wraparound porch when she slams into Annabeth.

The daughter of Athena breathes a sigh of relief, "Dear Zeus, I found you. Alexander he's—"

Thalia doesn't even wait for Annabeth to finish her sentence. She brushes past her, straight into the infirmary. Thalia nearly has a heart attack when she sees her little boy with bloody bandages around his head.

She kneels by the side of his cot, her thumbs wiping away his stray tears. "My baby," she cries, kissing his face repeatedly, "Are you okay? What happened? Where's your sister?"

Alex looks at his mother, his face horror stricken. His lower lip quivers, "Mommy, Helen where…" He trails off, trying to hold his sobs.

"Thalia," she hears someone whisper her name from behind. It's Kayla from Apollo cabin, holding a fresh roll of gauze in her hand. "Alex has severe head injuries, maybe it's best if you come back in an hour or so. I need to change his bandages and feed him some nectar and ambrosia."

Thalia catches her breath, "Okay."

She's ready to leave, sparing one last glance at her son. He stares at the wall blankly, tears still rolling down his face. He stares at the cot beside him and Thalia realizes it is Atalanta. She's out cold, looking far worse than Alex. Her left arm is wrapped in a cast and there's a long scar sliced across her forehead.

As Thalia makes her way back to the porch, she tries to calm herself. Her mind races, wondering where on earth her daughter is. This makes her hyperventilate. She's never had to deal with this before; searching for a missing child.

Nerves get the best of her. She vomits out the contents of her stomach as soon as she hits the grass. Then another thing dawns on her. There's one last place Thalia has to check. She picks herself off the ground, looking straight across the creek at the sword arena.

By the time Thalia does enter the arena, she bumps into yet another person and she's starting to get pretty fed up with it. Until she realizes it's just Nico.

"Thalia," he breathes, his face paling.

"What's wrong?" she asks automatically, eyeing him warily.

Nico tries to speak but he can't seem to form any words. Impatiently, Thalia shoves past him. She freezes at the sight of dead demigods. There lined up side by side in two rows. Some are covered by shrouds, others aren't.

Thalia stares at the petite body at the far end of the line and it feels like someone's just sucker punched her in the chest. Because that dead body at the far end of the line is Thalia's daughter.

When she sees Helen's blonde hair stained with dried blood and her throat ripped to shreds, she can't take it. To her in feels like the world is starting to fall apart as she falls to her knees. Suddenly something in Thalia just snaps.


	12. Chapter 11

**Camp Half-Blood—June 18**

There are too many good-byes.

That night is the first time Annabeth actually sees burial shrouds being used on bodies. It's something she never wants to see again.

Among the dead, is the son of Dionysus who'd gone down fighting an enemy half-blood. His shroud is a deep purple embellished with grapevines. His name was Castor. Jason looks away, ashamed he's seen him around camp for four years and never even bothered to learn his name. Castor was seventeen years old.

His twin brother, Pollux, tries to say a few words, but he chokes up, taking his seat in the second row of the amphitheater. Then there's Harley, the son of Hephaestus who'd taken a javelin for his brother and head counselor Jake Mason.

The last body is hidden by a light blue shroud, embroidered with a single lightning bolt. It's the saddest death of the day.

Helen Grace.

One of the youngest, most loved campers, dead at the hands of a hellhound. Atalanta and Alexander walk up hand in hand to say a final farewell.

From the front row, Thalia sits with her brother Jason. Not a lot of people can see it, but he's actually restraining her, keeping Thalia from doing something stupid or insane. Her eyes are dark, staring uncomprehendingly at the shrouded body. Anyone can tell she's drugged. Everyone knows by now, how the daughter of Zeus had gone psychotic in discovering her daughter's death. How she'd nearly destroyed the buildings surrounding the canoe lake.

None of them wanted to tranquilize Thalia. It made her seem demeaning like a wild animal. But they weren't given a choice. Even before the funerals Chiron was inclined to keep Thalia locked up in Cabin 1 but Nico and Annabeth had persuaded him otherwise. She deserved to say goodbye to her daughter.

Alexander refrains from touching his sister's shroud, "Blue. It was her favorite color." Is all he says before his voice thickens with tears. He motions to Atalanta.

She nods, lighting the funeral pyre. Within seconds the row of shrouds is engulfed in fire, sending smoke and sparks up to the stars.

Thalia's nails dig into Jason's arm, heavy tears falling freely down her face. Jason embraces his sister, feeling her chest heave up and down from her silent sobs.

Alexander looks at her, guilt evident in his stormy blue eyes. Many campers file out, leaving back towards the cabins.

"It's not your fault," Atalanta says defensively, glowering at him. "Neither of us could save her. You know that."

"I could have!" he growls, his face growing hot. "If I was stronger, if I had a sword I could have. I know it."

Angry tears fill her eyes, "But you're not Alex. You're not strong. You don't have a sword. You're not older. You have to accept the fact Helen's gone and there's nothing you can do now. You know she won't approve of you beating yourself up like this. You should honor Helen and respect what she wants. Stop thinking about what you could've done because in the end it doesn't matter. She's dead."

Alexander looks away, feeling hot tears fall down his face. In the end, she's right. Atalanta is always right. He clenches his fists and the sky darkens, not that it was sunny in the first place. Small drops of rain fall over the amphitheater, as if responding to Alexander's tears.

She hugs her friend tightly without a second thought. Her left arm makes her cringe, as she realizes it's still in a sling but for moment Atalanta doesn't care.

Annabeth looks at them from a far. She knows her daughter isn't supposed to be so grown up. She'll be five years old soon and already she's surrounded by danger and tragedy. Most five year olds don't have such gloomy thoughts, and their vocabulary isn't at all like Atalanta's.

In a way it almost reminds her of Percy in his various serious moments in the Labyrinth. At times he'd seem too old for his age. The stress would get to him, making him seem like an angsty thirteen year old rather than eight. Granted, Annabeth did too but it was never a dramatic change from her regular personality.

"Chiron wants to see us."

She turns her head slightly, seeing Nico's silhouette beside her. Droplets fall over them. "For?" Annabeth questions.

Nico shrugs in an _I-don't-know_ response, "He said not to bring Thalia, that'll she'll need more time to mourn." He gives the two children of Zeus a sad glance.

Annabeth nods in understanding, following him away. For a moment she's almost afraid to leave Thalia, knowing she's close to slipping into psychotic depression.

Nico looks at her, "Jason can take care of her for thirty minutes. He won't let anything happen to his sister. Just…trust him."

Sitting in the living room of the Big House being stared at by a god, a centaur, and nine head counselors is nerve wracking enough. But to see them, with red eyes from mourning over their lost friends or seeing their limbs in casts is worse. Because deep down, Annabeth and Nico can tell the campers want to blame them.

Chiron clears his throat, "After yesterday's events and much deliberation from the war council, we've realized how… unprepared we truly are. In a year, Nico, you will be twenty one. The second Titan war is almost upon us. Camp Half-Blood has suffered many betrayals and things on Olympus are not good."

"What are you asking from us?" Annabeth asks cautiously.

Chiron strokes his beard, "We want you to stay… here. Permanently. We… Camp Half-Blood needs all the help it can get. But more specifically, we need your help. The war council feels as though you two could perhaps, prepare us for the dim future to come."

For a moment they're not sure what to say.

Nico blinks, clearing his throat, "What about Thalia?"

"It has been a difficult time for all of us," Chiron says wearily. "Despite the destruction she caused, her healing process would be more effective if she remained with her friends and family. The last thing we need is another powerful demigod turning to the dark side."

Annabeth's expression falters; she doesn't miss what Chiron's implying.

**San Francisco, CA—July 1**

Hecate smiles from her huddled position beside a shimmering lake in the Garden of the Hesperides. She stares at the images in the water's reflection, in wonderment. Hecate was a clever goddess, yes, but she was no Hermes. And yet, everything had worked out perfectly. For her, at least.

In many ways Hecate had won:

Her daughter was finally safe, away from the horrors the Titan Army had to offer. Lou Ellen was at camp now, and soon she would be returned to her father. Hecate couldn't hope for more.

She had interfered with Bianca's inferior shadow travelling, transporting all of them to Times Square. She had played the news report on the Hudson River, purposely to tip them off on the location of the Golden Fleece.

And because of the Thalia and Nico's delay to reach Camp Half-Blood before the battle, the demigods suffered great damages. This seemed to please Kronos to no end.

But most importantly, Hecate's Chosen Ones where no more. The curse was gone and because of this, they were slightly easier to kill now, which scored her brownie points with the Titan Lord. He hated them no doubt and wanted them killed off as soon as possible. Yet at the same time, they weren't normal demigods. The strange half-bloods still retained some of the goddess's magic, which made them invulnerable to mortal ailments and minor wounds. _Either one, a blade to the head or chest,_ Hecate had told Kronos. _That is how they will die._

Hecate was almost giddy at these revelations. Sure, there were some things that hadn't gone well. Atlas, the idiot he was, failed his part of their scheme: to slaughter the hunters and demigods. Yet he failed at the hands of Artemis.

And then there was Erebus's mission to the Underworld. He was to release Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, Koios, Perses and Pallas. Yet only Hyperion, Krios and Iapetus were freed. Even then both Erebus and Iapetus fell into the Lethe, making the Titan of the west utterly useless and taking Kronos's biggest pawn out of commission.

Of course this had no effect on Hecate. She could not be blamed for the lack of wits in the Titan's Army. Thus, Kronos had rewarded Hecate. With what, she will never tell

When Hecate chatted with her daughter Circe the week before, she had been asked, "Whose side are you on anyway?"

She had answered the sorceress with a mysterious smirk, "No one's my dear. I simply serve myself."

Hecate supposes at that moment Perseus Jackson would have called her a confused, psychotic bitch. The truth of the matter is; Hecate in fact was a bitch. But she was the sweetest bitch anyone would ever meet.

**Underworld—July 2**

"Chicken," Terra smirks, giving Percy a playful shove towards the Styx.

He glowers at her murderously. He sighs, looking back at the river.

The River Styx's current swirls with strange objects—broken toys, ripped-up college diplomas, wilted homecoming corsages—all the dreams people had thrown away as they'd passed from life into death. Looking at the black water, Percy silently thinks of about three million other places he'd rather swim.

"So... I just jump in?"

"You have to prepare yourself first, idiot," Terra says, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul."

"Sounds fun," Percy mutters, getting this hopeful glint in his eye.

"This is no joke, Percy," Terra warns. "If you try to fuck us over I'll just tell our spies to rip—"

"I get it," he snaps, turning to glare at her from behind. Percy's eyes soon widen as he finds himself face-to-face with a Greek warrior. The last thing he needs at the moment is to run into an Olympian who wouldn't mind tearing him to shreds.

Like the god of war, the shade is tall and buff, with a cruel scarred face and closely shaved black hair. He wears a white tunic with bronze armor, holding a plumed war helm under his arm. But his eyes are human—pale green like a shallow sea—and a bloody arrow sticks out of his left calf, just above the ankle.

Percy's always sucked at Greek names, but even then you'd have to be mentally challenged to not remember the greatest warrior of all time, who'd died from a wounded heel.

"Achilles," Percy says.

The ghost nods. "I heard what you said about my statue in London. But, as a sign of no hard feelings, I've come to warn you not to follow my path."

"I have to," Percy insists.

"Do not do this," Achilles says. "It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak."

"I don't have choice," Percy tells him. "I'll die anyway."

Achilles lowers his head. "Let the gods witness I've tried. Hero, if you must do this, concentrate on your mortal point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what keeps you mortal, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."

"Well that's wonderful," Percy murmurs, his voice dipping in irritation. "Can I just go in the river already?"

He scowls, "Prepare yourself, foolish boy. Whether you survive this or not, you have sealed your doom!"

Percy rolls his eyes as the shade disappears, "How ominous sounding,"

Before he can change his mind, Percy concentrates on the small of his back. Tactically speaking, it's well defended by his armor. It's also a hard place to hit on accident, and few enemies would aim for it on purpose.

Without any further hesitation, Percy steps into the river.

At first he'd planned to walk in slow and courageous like a real hero, just in case Terra was back now and watching to make sure he didn't run for it. But as soon as the water touches Percy's legs, his muscles turn to jelly, making him fall face-first into the current.

Now fully submerged, Percy begins to understand the panic of drowning. For the first time in his life, he can't breathe underwater. He can almost feel himself dissolving. Faces flash before his eyes—Thalia, Nico, Atalanta, everyone in the Labyrinth—but they fade as soon as they appear.

"Percy," Thalia says. "Stop fucking around."

"Don't do anything stupid!" Daedalus yells.

"Stop touching my vodka!" Nico shouts.

Percy isn't too sure where Nico comes from, but it doesn't seem to help much.

He can feel himself losing the fight, becoming lost in the pain. His hands and feet melt into the water, and a first closes around his soul, attempting to rip it from his body. For a scary second, Percy begins to forget who he is.

_The cord,_ a familiar voice growls. _Remember your lifeline, stupid ass!_

Suddenly there's a tug from the small of Percy's back. The current pulls at him, but it doesn't seem to carrying him away anymore. He starts to imagine a string in his back keeping him tied to the shore.

"Hold on, Seaweed Brain." It's Annabeth's voice, much clearer now. "You're not getting away from me that easily."

The cord tightens.

Percy can see Annabeth now—standing barefoot above him on the Coney Island pier. Percy had just tripped, that's it. She reaches out her hand to haul him up, trying not to laugh. She's wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt but Percy tries not care. He just focuses on her eyes. Percy's always loved her eyes.

"You are such an idiot sometimes," she smiles at him, shaking her head. "Come on. Take my hand."

Memories come flooding back to him—sharper and more colorful. He stops dissolving. His name is Percy Jackson.

He reaches up, taking Annabeth's hand.

Suddenly Percy bursts out of the river, collapsing on the sand. His arms are bright red. To Percy, it feels like every inch of his body has been broiled over a slow flame.

He looks around for Annabeth, but in this heart Percy knows she isn't there. He'd wouldn't expect her to be after the way he'd hurt her. It had just seemed so real.

"Well you look like a tomato." He grinds his teeth at the sound of Terra's voice. "But at least you're not dead. Come on, we need to get back to base."


	13. Epilogue

**Camp Half-Blood—July 27**

The rest of the summer seems strange because it's so normal. The daily activities continue: archery, rock climbing, Pegasus riding. The kids play Capture the Flag (though they all avoid Zeus's Fist). They sing at the campfire and race chariots and play practical jokes one another cabins. Even Annabeth and Nico gradually become less morbid, surprised by the camp's quick comeback, as if they all refuse to stay too depressed.

Of course the pain is still there, etched on Thalia's face every time she walks into the dining pavilion (if she ever goes there at all). Unlike everyone else it's impossible for her to bounce back quickly. Day by day she gets slightly better, forging back to the old Thalia they all know and love.

Nico takes a surprise visit to Cabin 1 to check up on her. Jason's off in archery class, which leaves her alone. Chiron still doesn't trust Thalia with sharp weapons (which is why he forced Annabeth to give her a pat down. Amazingly they found ten of the little suckers stashed away) which means Thalia isn't allowed out of Cabin 1 without supervision. But even then, her alone…it tends to scare both Nico and Annabeth.

He knocks but gets no answer. Impatient and slightly worried, Nico rounds the cabin towards the only window which is always left open.

Nico climbs into the cabin without a second thought, obviously not worried about the fact Zeus will probably blast him any minute. There, on the bottom bunk, is Thalia sleeping. Well at first, he assumes she's sleeping. But then he's sees something concealed under the pillow. A flash of bronze.

As he walks closer he can smell it. Blood.

He grabs the weapon from under her pillows, his face turning pale as he sees the bloody dagger. Thalia doesn't stir once. Nico tosses the thing behind him, grabbing Thalia by the forearm. She still doesn't move. Then he sees it, a vertical slash on her left wrist, parallel to her vein. It cuts straight over her old scars.

The wound bleeds out, soaking her sheets. Only now does he realize it, her whole right arm sitting in a large stain of blood, concealed by a wool blanket. And then he realizes how stupid he is, that no one needs a wool blanket in summer.

"Thalia," he yells, shaking her. "Thalia, wake up!"

She doesn't respond.

"Fuck!" he hisses, panic overwhelming him. Nico scoops her up in his arms, running out the cabin like a madman, straight to the infirmary. Campers just turn to stop and stare, unsure of what's going on.

He bursts through the door of the infirmary, bumping into Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin. Lee gapes at Nico as he sets Thalia down on one of the cots.

He glares angrily at Lee, "You're a fucking healer aren't you? Help her!"

That snaps the son of Apollo out of his trance. He runs over to a cabinet, grabbing a gauze bandage to stop the bleeding. Nico runs his hands through his hair, praying to every single god on Olympus that Thalia will be okay.

It takes a few hours for her to wake up. Everything around her is hazy and relatively unimportant. She wants to drift back to unconsciousness, but then something in the corner catches her eye. It instantly lulls her out of her daze.

His face is in his hands, not looking at her. He's exhausted, Thalia can tell even in her confused state.

"Nico?" she croaks, her voice incredibly pathetic.

His head darts up, his eyes frenzies. "Thalia? Gods, you're okay."

"Where am I?" Thalia murmurs.

"The infirmary," Nico answers. His expression hardens, "I swear to the fucking gods Thalia if you ever pull a shit move like that again I'll flay you alive and throw you off the Empire State Building."

"I'm feeling the love Nico," she says weakly, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I really am."

"Why did you do it, Thalia?" he demands. "Where you trying to give us a fucking heart attack? Alex, your own son, came in here crying! He asked, _'What happened to my mommy?'_ What the absolute fuck was I supposed to tell him? _Oh, you emotionally unstable mother tried to kill herself."_

"You know sure how to make a person feel like shit."

"Yeah, I know," Nico retorts. "Helps me sleep at night."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay!" she snaps. "I was stupid and impulsive and I stole two bottles of Whiskey from the Dionysus cabin. Why they even have alcohol there, I'm not to sure. I was fucked up and I made a bitch move, okay? I'm sorry!"

"You're sorry," Nico repeats in a flat voice.

"I just can't handle it Nico!" Thalia snarls, raising her voice as high as it'll go. "Okay?" she takes a deep breathe, her eyes watering. "After everything that's happened, Percy and Terra turning traitor, Luke losing his memories and my own daughter's death you expect me to be okay?"

"No," he says truthfully. "I expect you not to take the easy way out. I expect you to stay strong, no matter what happens, not for me or Annabeth but for Alex."

"Maybe I'm not as strong as you think I am," Thalia sighs. "I'm tired of having the Fates take everything from me. Everyone I care about. Next thing I know, Annabeth, Alexander….you… all of you will be gone. And I'll be alone."

His jaw sets, "That's not true."

"How do you know?" she screeches, her voice cracking. "How could you possibly know that, Nico?"

"Because Thanatos will have to drag me to the Underworld kicking and screaming before I leave you to suffer. If I die, you die with me. Just like what happened in the Underworld, fair?"

"I don't believe you," she says skeptically.

"I promise, Thalia."

The realization sinks into her, "You'll… never— you'll never leave… me?"

"Never," Nico says more forcefully. "You're my friend Thalia. I don't abandon my friends like Percy."

**Camp Half-Blood—January 1**

**One year ago…**

Atalanta never enjoyed this time a year. For one thing it was winter, meaning most campers where at home for the holidays or in school. For Atalanta that meant spending Christmas and New Year's with Chiron and Mr. D (both who made Atalanta uncomfortable), coming home to an empty cabin 6. Of course there were other children here as well. Her best friends, Helen and Alexander, were much like her, given to Camp Half-Blood at only a few weeks old. But even then they aren't allowed to sleep with her in Athena's cabin, staying with their aunts and uncles in cabin 11.

Atalanta often visited the Long Island Sound during the middle of night when no one else was here with her. It gave her that little connection to her Dad, the one she never met before. Even those rare times when Atalanta managed to get Juniper to even speak about her parents, she always talked about her mother Annabeth. Never Atalanta's father. Never Perseus Jackson, the son of Poseidon. His name was all she knew.

Atalanta sat in her usual spot in the sand, her fingers stroking the calm waves lapping the shore, her hand growing cold.

"I'm surprised they let you out here by yourself."

She whips her head around, astonished to see someone beside her. The stranger stares at her face, his curious green eyes studying her reaction. Atalanta's lip juts out a tad but beside that her face is blank.

She tilts her head slightly, "Didn't anyone notice you?"

Atalanta can tell he wasn't expecting that question but the guy manages to crack a smile, "Invisibility." He pulls out a New York Yankee's cap from his pocket, "It's actually your mother's. Don't worry, though, I'll return it to her later."

"You know mommy?" she blurts out.

He doesn't answer. He stares at the waves intently as if he's trying to recall something from his memory.

The expressionless face returns, "You're him, aren't you?"

He looks at her, his green eyes boring into hers. Just by looking at him she can tell their face is the same, disregarding Atalanta's gray eyes. It doesn't take long for Atalanta to answer her own question; it's not very hard to find the answer.

She sits quietly beside her father, thinking. How is she supposed to feel, when her own father is sitting right beside her? The father she's never seen before? The father who's never been in her life until now?

"You look confused," Percy notices, looking at his daughter.

"I-I..." she huffs, never one to enjoy being confused. "How am I supposed to feel?" she retorts, frustration evident in her tone of voice.

He smiles at her, "Are you sure your four years old?"

Atalanta smiles. It feels good, smiling. Around Juniper and the other children her smiles are never natural, only forced. Percy's own expression disappears and he looks at Atalanta sadly.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"You remind me of your mother," he says bluntly staring into Atalanta's eyes. They remind him so much of Annabeth.

She looks away, fingering her hands through the warm sand.

Percy stands, "I've gotta go."

Atalanta jumps to her feet in surprise, "But you just got here!" she cries, astonished by her own protests.

"I have to leave before the Harpies sniff me out. I'm not supposed to be here and it's only a matter of time before they catch on."

He takes out a knife and hands it to Atalanta, "I've noticed they haven't given you a weapon yet so I want you to have this one."

She grasps the knife by its hilt. The sheath is worn black leather, bound in bronze. The hilt is polished wood, fitting perfectly in the curve of Atalanta's hand. She unsheathes it, staring at the eight inch long triangular blade. The bronze glows in the moonlight, giving off a perfect reflection of the moon in her blade. She outlines the edge with her finger, surprised by how sharp it is.

"It's called Katoptris," Percy murmurs as Atalanta admires the knife. "It belonged to the Helen of Troy."

She looks at him with renewed interest.

"The blade is called a parazonium. It's mostly ceremonial, carried by high-ranking officers in the Greek armies. It proves you're a person of power and wealth. Katoptris has never seen battle before but don't worry, it'll protect you in a fight."

"Why a knife?" she questions.

"Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," Percy explains. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

Atalanta blushes finally, tucking the blade back in its sheath. "I want you to promise me something."

"Anything," he says.

At first the girl hesitates, "Will we ever be a family? Me, you and mommy?"

His eyes burn with such intensity Atalanta almost thinks she's asked for too much, "I promise we'll be a family again, the three of us. And I won't let anything happen to you."

Atalanta purses her lips, "Pinky promise?" she sticks out her pinky, her innocent gray eyes almost too much for him. Percy can't help but smile one last time.

He wraps his larger pinky finger around hers, "Promise."

**And that, my friends, was the end.**

**The third installment, Stalemate, will be out soon. I'm thinking tomorrow maybe or September 12 (I have to go on vacation) it depends.**

**And last words... Percy. He's something, isn't he? You'll just have to see what he has instored next...**

**I'd like to thank my dearest friend Zoe for helping get through RL, ask her it certainly did kick my ass. I'd also like to thank reviewers JasonxPiper forever and Harley Girls RULES. These last few days have been kind of crappy but your reviews cheered me up. And I'm grateful :)**

**Here's Bubbles, signing off... NOW!**

**Oh, and don't forget to leave a review! They taste almost as good as my Breyer's Chips Ahoy ice cream... Ah so good...**


	14. Stalemate & The Veritas

**The third installment of the _Chosen Ones_ series is up. If you are not signed up to Author Alert it is in my profile named _Chosen Ones: _Stalemate. As a warning, these chapters are longer than usual, just so you know :DDD. **

**I have also been nominated for the Veritas for Best Alternate Universe. Be sure you vote for _Chosen Ones: The Hunted._ I love you all :)**

**To vote for me you can go to:**

** fanmortals(dot)****webs(dot)com**


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